Long Live the Hunt
by Lightning09
Summary: Shortly after regaining her memories, Clary and the Shadowhunters are launched into yet another whirlwind adventure. As Shadowhunters begin to go missing, Seelies are the primary suspect. The Shadowhunters and Seelies are on the brink of war, as tension rises and the Clave races to discover the true culprit. Long live the hunt. (Main couple: Clace) Based on books/show
1. Chapter One: Out of the Shadows

Author's Note

Hey Shadowfam! So this is a continuation after the 3B finale of Shadowhunters (although we still fight to Save Shadowhunters). This story incorporates aspects of the book and show, but picks up after the 3B finale, so beware of spoilers. It will follow the structure of TMI books and the show, so Clary will be the lead character. There will of course still be some Malec, Sizzy, wolves and vamps but the lead is Clary, Jace (Clace story) :). I'm super open to suggestions and feedback so don't be afraid to shoot me a message. Follow me on my Shadowhunters Twitter account Ava62303140

NOTE: This chapt, focuses on Clary's road to becoming a Shadowhunter again, next chapter will leap right into the action! And onwards…

Chapter One: Out of the Shadows

"I'll take a caramel cappuccino and a croissant." Clary said, tucking an annoying strand of hair behind her ear. She turned to consider the confused blond boy beside her. "What was it you wanted again?"

"What's that bitter drink thing you mentioned?" he asked staring curiously at the whirring machines behind the very bewildered barista.

Clary grinned and turned back to address the barista. "Yes, so that's one medium caramel cappuccino, a croissant and a medium black coffee to go."

In less than 8 minutes of Java Jones service, Clary and Jace were out of the cafe and strolling down the bustling streets of Brooklyn. Clary watched Jace sniff strangely at the coffee before carefully placing his lips to the cup and sipping mildly. She struggled to suppress the snort that desperately wanted to escape when he recoiled from the steaming heat of the coffee.

After their encounter in the alley, Clary had slowly begun to remember different aspects of the mysterious and frankly, dangerous, Shadoworld. Once she began having flashbacks, her curiosity overpowered her shock. The only people who seemed to have answers to these strange visions, were the Shadowhunters.

At first she did struggle to remember the vampire Simon Lewis, the daunting Lightwood siblings and the cheery Mr. Lightwood-Bane. She remembered the Institute, the Clave, the Silent Brothers, runes and weaponry. Her ever growing and retrieved knowledge of the Shadoworld seemed to ignite the most vibrant hope and excitement from the blond boy walking beside her. Although he tried to hide it, Jace appeared mildly disappointed when 3 months had passed and she still hadn't recovered memories of _her _experience in the Shadoworld. Sure, she could remember runes, demons and the Institute, but she failed to remember moments of her personal life as a Shadowhunter.

It was frustrating to hear other people who had supposedly been her closest confidants, recount her impressive stories as a Shadowhunter. Simon spoke of her like a badass warrior who was launched into a new world and fought demons, like some heroine in his video game. Isabelle spoke of Clary with great respect, painting her old self with bravery and selflessness. Jace's memories of her time in the Shadoworld were almost painful. He told her simple stories of her most daring battles with Valentine and Jonathan, a father and brother she didn't know she had, and of intense training and magical rune ceremonies. She felt as if he were leaving out important details, however when she pressed him for more, he merely smiled and told her it wasn't time.

It had been 4, almost 5 months of this routine. Jace would pick her up outside her townhouse, they would grab food and walk through the streets of Brooklyn. Clary felt the strangest feeling whenever she was with Jace. She always felt as if memories were trying to resurface but that feeling was most prominent and urgent when Jace was there. As they walked by the local park, Clary smiled fondly as she sipped her cappuccino. This was where she had her first memory of her time in the Shadoworld. It had been a chilly evening and she was heading over to this secluded spot under the trees. She often met Jace, Simon or Isabelle at this spot for their impromptu hangouts. That day, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus were all waiting for her under the trees. Isabelle was scolding Jace and Alec for their food arrangement, while Simon was laughing as Magnus used his warlock magic to blow a gust of wind that knocked over a teenage couple behind a tree, a few yards from them.

"_I know, I know, I'm late. Sorry, I had to hand in a piece of work to the Academy." Clary said rubbing her hands together for warmth. "Did you - did you guys set up a picnic?"_

_Jace blushed visibly and kicked over a water bottle. "It was Isabelle's idea, not mine. She thought eating would somehow make you remember - "_

"_You asshole," Isabelle snarked. "I said being surrounded by food and good company might help trigger some sense of familiarity. Just because you and Alec don't know how to set up a blanket with food, doesn't mean you have to pin the abysmal presentation on me - "_

_As the pair continued to bicker, Clary sat down awkwardly next to Magnus. He smiled warmly at her and offered her the sharpest and largest butter knife she'd ever seen. It was nearly as long as her forearm. She raised her eyebrow questioningly, as she took the knife and began slicing the bread. _

"_Shadowhunters like large knives." he said amusedly as he watched Alec enter the argument, first as mediator, then becoming Isabelle's next victim. _

"_I've noticed," Clary smiled. She enjoyed Magnus' company. Out of all the people there, Magnus was the only one who didn't ask if she'd remembered anything, every time he saw her. She felt less pressure to remember the Shadoworld and all her experience in it, when she was around him. Clary turned to watch the intensifying argument when she noticed a dark figure stirring in the trees above them. She stood up uncertainly, craning her head to get a better view. _

"_Watch out!" Clary cried, yanking Jace away as a revolting creature leaped down on the spot where he was just standing. Clary gasped as the demon advanced towards her, not because she was frightened but because a chilling and exhilarating memory had just surged through her mind. It happened so quickly, that in a blink of an eye, she jutted her knife forward and stabbed the demon. It disintegrated before her eyes and she collapsed to her knees in complete and utter shock. She was deaf to the questions being launched at her as random hands began helping her up and guiding her back to the picnic blanket. _

"_We should all just simmer down and let Clary catch her breath." Magnus said using his magic to push everyone a few inches away from her. Clary exhaled sharply, sending Magnus a grateful look. All eyes were trained intently on her as they waited for her to say something. _

"_I...remember." Clary said shakily as she hugged her knees to her chest. _

"_Everything?" "What do you remember?" "Do you remember our comic book?" "What did you see?"_

"_No." Clary replied to the grass a few feet in front of her. She refused to look up and see the disappointment spread across everyone's faces. "Not everything. I remember that demon I killed with Jace and Isabelle on Halloween. I remember running towards them and shooting something from my hand that finally destroyed it." _

_A moment of silence passed amongst the group. "That's fucking fantastic Fray." Simon beamed enthusiastically down at her. He plopped himself down beside her and tossed her a bottle of water. "Drink up, you must be drained from all the action. At least we know, that your real memories are slowly returning."_

Since that day, memories had begun to trickle back into her mind. There weren't many and they weren't long, but they did give her a better idea of who she was. The most disheartening part, was that she still hadn't remembered anything about her and Jace. Clary recalled some moments with the others but had failed to remember moments with Jace. She wasn't sure if she or Jace was more frustrated by this. Even now, Clary could recognize the passionately deep relationship and bond her old self shared with him. She knew he played an instrumental role in her old life, she just couldn't remember any of it.

"I...I don't mean to pressure you, or rush you in anyway," Jace said awkwardly as they rounded the corner on Bloom Street. "I was just wondering - if you had given any thought to - "

"To doing the procedure with the Silent Brothers?" Clary finished, taking a big painful gulp of her coffee. She had. She had given it many sleepless nights and horrific nightmares.

"Yeah. Yes. That would be it." Jace said trying to regain his composure. He turned to look at her with his golden eyes that always seemed to see right through her. She wished he wouldn't look at her. It would make it so much easier to tell him that she didn't want to do the procedure. A few weeks ago, Isabelle had convinced her to visit the Silent Brothers and consult them about ways to restore her memories. She would be lying if she said she wasn't amazed and intimidated at their interesting appearance and method of communication.

Brother Jeremiah had told her of a complicated procedure that could potentially restore all of her memories, given it was the will of the angels. Or the procedure could be completely unsuccessful and she would be left as she is. Or the procedure could be unsuccessful _and _take all her progress of remembering the Shadoworld. Her favorite outcome, was the procedure resulting in failure while also taking her "frail mundane life".

"Jace…" she began feeling her voice catch in her throat. "I want to. I really want to do the procedure." They stopped walking as the reached the steps of her townhouse.

"I sense a 'but' coming." Jace said not unkindly as he watched her fidget uncomfortably.

"But, I'm just not sure I'm ready to sacrifice everything for the Shadoworld. I know it's pathetic, because I know your Clary would do it in a heartbeat, but I'm just not ready. I want to get to know you and Simon and the others, but at the cost of my life and my memories again? I'm not ready." she finished weakly. She felt completely ridiculous as she stood before Jace, a half empty cappuccino cup in her hand and tears streaming down her face. Clary grew frustrated and irritated as she waited for Jace to respond. "Well are you going to speak?"

Jace actually gave a small laugh and reached forward, as if he were going to comfort her but caught himself in the last second. She was surprised to find herself slightly disappointed. "You _are _my Clary and you've already been incredibly courageous. It's foolish to expect you to give up everything for people you've just...met. Please don't feel sorry or guilty for refusing." Jace said assuringly, only succeeding in making Clary cry harder.

"God I'm sorry," Clary said doing her best to look even slightly less disorganized and disgruntled.

"Don't be." Jace said his eyes burning with intensity and desperation. "Will you be alright?"

"I'll survive." Clary smiled weakly, digging inside her purse for her keys.

"Have a good day," Jace said stiffly as he turned to head back to the Institute. Clary turned to watch him leave and surprised herself by calling after him. He turned around equally as shocked and stopped to stare at her.

"Will you tell me a story about us next time? Not a training or a battle, but like...I don't know a date maybe?" Clary asked watching a smile spread across his face. She was moved when his smile sent sparks of joy and happiness through her.

"Our dates were not conventional or mundane." Jace said fondly as he tucked his hands into his pockets. Clary felt a sharp sense of loss inside of her and almost jealousy, because Jace looked so thrilled to be reminiscing his dates with this Clary girl. She really longed to be that Clary.

"Don't say 'it's not time'." Clary said indignantly, moving to reduce the large space between them.

The corner of Jace's mouth twitched and he sighed regretfully. "I don't think _I'm _ready to retell our love story, just yet. It's a long and complicated and heart wrenchingly beautiful story."

And then he turned and walked briskly back towards the Institute.

It had been a week since her last outing with Jace and one new memories had resurfaced. She had remembered fighting demons in New York City with Alec, Isabelle and Jace. She was unclear on how and what triggered these memories, just that they came on their own terms.

Clary felt excitement and almost giddiness as she waited for Isabelle outside the mall. She felt her heart rate speed up as she spotted the dark haired girl crossing the parking lot.

"I remember feeling that we were close. Very close." Clary said abruptly when Isabelle approached her.

Isabelle looked taken aback before she smiled sadly at her. "We wanted to become parabatai, but we never really got the chance." Clary felt her soaring happiness sink a little when she discovered the reality of the old Clary's parabatai status. "Are you ready to buy out the mall?"

"How are you getting all this mundane money? And how do you know what a mall is?" Clary asked curiously as they entered the first store.

"Shadowhunters get a salary for clothing. We can request to spend it on mundane clothes if we want, it's what most people do. As for the mall, I was practically raised here. How do you think my wardrobe is as well stocked as it is?" Isabelle said happily skipping through the aisles. "As for you my dear, becoming a mundane again has not developed your sense of fashion. It's still plain, simple and virgin like."

"You want me to dress like a slut?" Clary asked confusedly as Isabelle piled a stack of clothing in her arms.

"I want you to dress like the badass woman you are." Isabelle corrected as Clary followed her down the aisles. The badass woman she _was_, Clary thought.

It must've been at least 45 minutes later before Isabelle was satisfied with the clothes she'd selected and promptly lead the march to the change rooms. Clary watched amusedly as Isabelle's glamourized form managed to sneakily guide Clary around the long line and dart into an empty change room. It must've been at least another 30 minutes of twirling and trying on clothing that were much tighter than she was accustomed to. Isabelle looked overjoyed as she sorted between the clothes to keep and the ones unworthy of being worn.

"I don't think my rent fees will appreciate it if I spend all of my money on clothes." Clary said wearily eyeing the growing pile of 'keep clothes'.

Without turning from her skilled sorting, Isabelle chirped "Don't worry, I brought you a Shadowhunter salary for clothing too. Alec won't be too pleased when he finds out, but as the Head of the New York Institute, I simply can't let a fellow Shadowhunter drown in outdated clothing."

"But I'm not a Shadowhunter." Clary protested, catching her plain appearance in the mirror. She'd seen a picture of her from Magnus and Alec's wedding and she had changed quite a bit. She was paler, her had grown out and she didn't have runes covering her body anymore. Her arms looked skinnier, likely as a result of less training, and her cheeks were hollower.

Isabelle stopped her sorting and turned to look at Clary. She moved to stand right in front of her, blocking her view of herself in the mirror. "You may not remember being a Shadowhunter, but it's always going to be a part of you. The bastardly angels may have taken your angelic power but they can't take your angelic blood. You were born to be a Shadowhunter and even as a mundane there were traces of it in your life - " Isabelle was cut short because Clary had completely launched herself at her and enveloped Isabelle in an unexpected hug. Clary didn't remember everything about her relationship with Isabelle, but she was certain it was not unloyal or unsupportive.

"Let's go make the cashier faint with this pile of clothing. Oh, and Clary? If I go to hell, I'm blaming it on you." she said cheerfully as they made their way to the checkout line.

"Why?" Clary laughed struggling to hold all the clothes in her arms.

"I called the angels 'bastardly' to make you feel better."

3 hours and 12 stores later, Clary and Isabelle were walking down the street on the way to the Institute. It wasn't an easy trek, with all the bags they were carrying. Clary wasn't sure why or how she could see the Institute as she was certainly not a Shadowhunter. When she asked Isabelle, her reply was firm and unwelcoming to further questions; "Being a Shadowhunter isn't something that just disappears. It's a gift, and even angels can't get refunds on those."

Somehow Isabelle had convinced Clary to return to the Institute with her for dinner. She had only been there a few times since she lost her memories and only snippets of it had returned to her at random instances.

"We can drop these off in my room and you can pick them up before you go." Isabelle said as they entered through the massive wooden doors of the church. Clary was surprised to discover that she knew the way to Isabelle's room, without ever being told. She felt a sense of self satisfaction as she walked side by side with her.

After dropping off their bags, Isabelle lead them to the kitchen. "What do we feel like eating? Chinese? Italian? Mexican? I haven't had Thai in a while…" she said thoughtfully opening the fridge door.

Clary perched herself on a stool by the counter after Isabelle firmly rejected her offer to help. She was watching Isabelle flit around the kitchen when the door opened, admitting Alec and Jace. They were laughing about something ridiculous and they were drenched in sweat. They stopped short at the sight of her, pausing their conversation rather suddenly.

"Clary!" Jace exclaimed as a wide grin spread across his face. Clary smiled lightly back, feeling a sense of familiarity and naturalness in this. "I bet Isabelle exhausted you with all the shopping - ".

Before she could reply, she noticed Alec and Isabelle hissing to each other very heatedly.

"And you expect me to just dismiss a thousand dollar withdrawal that had no Shadowhunter's name associated to it?" Alec snapped, aggressively twisting open a bottle of water.

"_Clary is a Shadowhunter." _Isabelle retorted, slamming ingredients on the counter.

"You very well know what I mean. I have only been inquisitor for a year and I'd like to at least keep the position for a few more decades. And what about you being the head of the Institute? You can't just keep robbing the Clave for your spontaneous shopping sprees." Alec said indignantly. "It's completely irresponsible and inappropriate - "

"I told Isabelle, I'd be fine with paying myself." Clary interrupted, feeling the need to cease the fire that started because of her. "It's really not a big deal."

Alec looked disgruntled as he turned to address her. "No no no, Clary, I'm not opposed to the fact that you are a Shadowhunter. I meant that Isabelle should pay for both of your expenses with _her own _salary."

"We can discuss this later," Isabelle huffed yanking open the drawer of very sharp and big knives. "If you'll excuse us, I was just about to make Clary and I some Thai food."

"Ooh," Jace said wincing as he sat down next to Clary. "You must have also forgotten Isabelle's creative cooking style. For the sake of your health and digestion, maybe you and Izzy should consider joining Alec and I at Taki's. Izzy you don't object do you?"

"Well I am rather tired from shopping all day, and I have been craving their burgers." Isabelle said regretfully eyeing all the ingredients she had laid out.

In an hour of New York time, the four of them were seated at Taki's diner, gorging on all the food. The first time Clary had eaten here, she was touched to learn that Maia (a very beautiful werewolf who was apparently her friend) had named the burrata salad after her Shadowhunter family name. She's ordered it every time.

The night air was cool and crisp as they strolled down the quiet street. Isabelle and Alec were bickering ahead, as Jace and Clary walked side by side.

"Is it strange?" Clary asked staring straight ahead. "To see a stranger wear the face of the woman you loved?"

Upon seeing Jace's astonished face, Clary immediately regretted asking. "I'm sorry that was insensitive of me and completely intrusive. Just - forget I asked - " she said panicked.

"No, it's alright." Jace said quietly. "I won't lie to you, it is strange. It's only strange because when I look at you, I expect to see _you _staring back. You're not a stranger wearing her face, you _are _Clary Fairchild. You're just...Clary Fray right now."

Clary considered this as they continued down the street. Fray, Fairchild, Clarissa, Clary, mundane or Shadowhunter, it was all completely disorienting.

"Jace look to your left." Alec said suddenly. He and Isabelle had stopped and retreated to stand in front of Clary, their hidden weapons suddenly exposed and ready.

Jace tensed himself as he skillfully drew his seraph blade. He slid a large dagger into the palm of her hand. It felt foreign but familiar in her small hand. "Just in case." he whispered. "Stay back-"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, a group of revolting figures emerged from the shadows and sped towards them. Their clawed hands shone in the moonlight, as their formless, liquid like legs carried them forwards. The most disturbing part, were the streaks of fire that exploded from their eyes. Alec shot several arrows, that killed one and wounded two others.

Clary watched with awe as Isabelle's whip entangled itself around the largest of the group and effectively knocked it off its feet. Jace stood squarely in front of Clary, stabbing a demon wherever he could reach before finally deliver the fatal blow to its neck.

Another demon had snuck up on their right, bolting straight towards them. Clary raised her dagger and deflected the bolt of fire that was aimed at her face. Jace expertly flipped so that he was behind the demon and sliced across the back of its liquid legs. The demon roared with rage, grabbing Jace with its claws and slamming him into the ground.

A hand suddenly gripped Clary by the arms and hoisted her into the air. An arrow struck the creature square in the chest, but only succeeded in irritating it and loosening its grip on her. Clary watched Alec nock another arrow before his back was singed by another demon's fire.

Clary didn't understand her actions in the next few moments, but her body seemed to move from its own knowledge and will. She thrust her dagger into the underside of the demon's jaw, which forced him to drop her. Clary landed flat on her feet and dodged the demon's bolt of fire. She ducked its claw fisted swing and she drove the dagger sharply into its chest. The demon disintegrated in front of her, but there was another one attempting to knock her over. Clary was stunned by her own reflexes as she evaded the demon's claws, chopping off its hand before jumping onto its back. She dug her dagger into the eye sockets of the demon, falling to the ground as the demon collapsed and died. Heaving for air, her blood singing with adrenaline, she gazed up and saw the three of them staring at her with broad smiles.

"That's my girl." Jace laughed helping her up from the kneeling position she landed in.

"That's my parabatai to be. I taught her everything she knows." Isabelle said proudly, winking at her.

"I don't know…" Clary started still dazed with shock and a high she'd never felt before. "I have no clue what I just did but somehow by body did."

"Shadowhunter fighting instincts," Isabelle beamed. "This just proves my point. Once a Shadowhunter, always a Shadowhunter."

Since she remembered Jace's name outside of the gallery, she had been troubled by confusing dreams of beautiful angels, dark demon-like beings and a red haired boy with the sharpest cheekbones and facial features she'd ever seen. His eyes were a crisp and gentle shade of green, always staring at her with seriousness and intensity. A pair of brilliant white wings extended from his back. The boy would stand across from her on a busy street in New York. The New Yorkers would be oblivious to their interaction as the boy called out to her. He always said the same thing to her and she never had a chance to respond before she woke. "Don't be afraid to fall." he said.

After a restless night filled with dreams of the red haired boy with wings, Clary handed in another painting to the Academy. This painting had a dark and somber tone and color scheme, outlined with sharp strokes of blood red. The gallery consultant was impressed and slightly disturbed by the dark painting, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Ready Fray?" Simon asked waving at her from the bench outside the gallery. He stood and joined her stride as they walked towards the Institute. "So remember that comic book I told you about? It's blowing up everywhere in the mundane world, it's so crazy Fray. They even want me to do book signings, panel discussions and photo ops."

"That's great Simon, it looked amazing the last time I saw the preview." Clary smiled. "I bet you're excited."

He turned to look at her incredulously. "Oh, I don't plan on attending any of that media crap. Not without my best friend and co-writer/artist."

"I hope you're not referring to me." Clary said feeling an indescribably acute ache in her heart.

"Who else could I possibly be referring to?" he asked shooting her a side grin.

Clary wasn't sure where her anger and frustration came from but she felt it erupt without her permission. "What makes you, all of you Shadowhunter people, so confident that your Clary is just going to suddenly appear? Have any of you ever considered that maybe she's gone and all you have left is me. The girl wearing her face but not her mind and memories. I swear it's like you all feel that by spending time with you, my memories will magically reappear and we'll all reunite and live happily ever after. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that sometimes, happily ever after just doesn't exist."

Simon was silent throughout her angry outburst, making her even more regretful and stressed. Yet he didn't appear surprised or upset.

"I guess I can see how we've all been pushing you. Maybe a little too hard. For that, I am sorry." Simon said genuinely. "I think we're all just so desperate to get you back that it's overtaking our reason. Believe it or not, this is the third time we've lost you in like 2 years. We thought you were dead, then you became all evil Fray and then you lost your memories. You _are _Clary, there's no separate versions of you, the real Clary is just lost right now. I understand how new and overwhelming this must all feel, but come on Fray, somewhere deep inside you can't tell me you don't feel that familiarness. When you fought those demons or when you're in the Institute, you can't tell me it doesn't feel right?"

They had just reached the Institute. Clary stopped at the large wooden doors and stared at it. She could leave. She could run and ignore the Shadoworld that her old self was supposedly involved in, and live her own life. Clary had no reason or obligation to the Shadowhunters to continue spending time with them, in hopes of regaining her memories. However, Clary couldn't deny that she did have an obligation to herself, to at least try and discover more about her identity.

"Let's go in." Clary said steadily to Simon. But on the inside her nerves and blood were burning with fear and uncertainty.

They were greeted by Isabelle who gave her a tour of the Institute and told her some stories in each place. Apparently, in the training room she was possessed by her darker side because of her connection to her supposedly very evil demon brother, and she beat the crap out of another Shadowhunter, who was also the daughter of a very important person in the Clave. Clary was completely dumbfounded and even wondered if Isabelle was joking.

They reached a closed door in one of the side corridors. Isabelle stepped back and motioned for her to open it. "This is your room. I'll let you take a peak on your own."

Clary felt unusually nervous as she gripped the knob of the door and turned. She timidly entered the room and was greeted by a streak of light from the setting sun that shone in from the large windows. The room was lofty and messy. Messier than she thought it would be. Boxes were left drawn out, they appeared to have been rummaged through. Her bed was neatly made, no indication of having been slept in recently. Her closet was rather empty but her desk was cluttered with scraps of paper and charcoal pencils. Easels were propped up in every corner, presenting bold and expressive artwork.

Clary couldn't deny the liking or respect she felt for her old-self. The room seemed to reflect characteristics of the Shadowhunter Clary. Messy and disorganized, but there was something beautiful and artistic about the chaos. Her - my - artwork also suggested that Shadowhunter Clary was passionate and daring in her artistic technique. Clary was drawn to the sketch book that lay open on the desk. She was entranced by a sketch of a boy in a burning tower. She flipped through the sketch book and stopped when she reached a newer sketch. She could tell it was newer, by the freshness of the pencil strokes and pastel colors, and the crispness of the paper.

It was an image of a tall blond haired boy and a dark red headed girl, walking hand in hand in front of the Eiffel Tower. The sun was setting behind the tower, and the sky was splattered with brilliant shades of pink, gold and orange. The boy and the girl were walking towards the tower. Upon closer examination, the boy was holding a seraph blade and the girl was holding a dagger. Clary couldn't help but admire the Shadowhunter Clary's attention to detail and expressiveness. Even as a stranger revisiting something she previously drew but didn't remember, she could feel the blazing love and trust between the two Shadowhunters. She felt a sudden longing somewhere deep within her soul that seemed to verberate with scathing intensity. It was as if her soul was yearning for something, she couldn't understand.

Clary nearly dropped the sketch book when she heard a sharp rap at the door. "Come in," she said awkwardly. Jace stepped into the room donned in gray sweats and a plain white shirt. His hair was cleanly washed and swept effortlessly to the side. It annoyed her to see his careless perfection and beauty.

"Hey," Jace said clasping his hands behind his back. "Isabelle told me you were in your room."

Clary refrained from stating that it wasn't really her room. "Yeah, she told me I could have a look, see if anything came to mind."

"Did anything come to mind?" Jace asked casually. Clary didn't fail to notice the hint of hope in his voice when he asked the question.

"Unfortunately, not." she said, gazing out the window so as to avoid watching the pain flicker briefly but noticeably across his eyes.

"Nobody said it would be easy," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "You've already come so far."

Clary didn't know what broke inside of her, but she felt the pain, pressure and stress she'd been repressing for the past few months collapse, as tears came rushing out. She stifled her sob and turned away from Jace, completely mortified to appear so weak and frail in front of him again.

"Clary?" Jace said, sounding very concerned and panicked. "Did I say something? Are you alright?"

She couldn't even bring herself to answer as she leaned over the desk, gripping the edge very tightly as she tried to stop the steady flow of tears. It was difficult to comprehend that she had a gifted and supernatural life before this, filled with heroic battles, thrilling adventures and mystical creatures. It was even more challenging to realize that she may never fully know that life again, or the people in it. Yet, perhaps the most agonizing part, was knowing she could never be _that _Clary, ever again.

"I'm sorry - " Clary gasped, "I just feel this immense loss inside of me. It's like there's this gaping hole inside of me that I can't locate or understand. It's like something was ripped out of me and I can't close the wound no matter what I try, or remember, or do. I am not your Clary, I'm really sorry, I wish I was, but I don't know if I'll ever be the same." she finished lamely. Clary still refused to look at him, choosing rather to look up towards the ceiling.

She stilled at the touch of his hand on her back. Her chest was bursting with pain and unspoken emotions that her brain couldn't process. He slowly turned her stiff body so that she was facing him. Clary was staring fixedly at the necklace he wore around his neck when his knuckle lightly nudged her chin. She reluctantly turned to look at him and was entranced by his smoldering golden eyes.

"I know you don't remember it, but I'll tell you a story of us. We were dancing at Magnus and Alec's wedding. You wore a stunning red dress that completely stole the show from the couple. For me at least. Right before you left the Shadoworld, you told me something. You said 'Jace, no matter what, my love for you will never die.' And you know what? I believe that. I didn't when I first realized you were mundane, but when you said my name, in that alley, for the first time in a year, I was able to breathe. Now I believe it so strongly, I have complete faith in you regaining your memories. You're always going to be Clary, even if you don't remember it. The angles may have taken away your memories, but they can't shatter your will, your values or even your determination. And that is what makes me so confident in you." Jace said softly. His hand had found its way to her cheek, and she felt a small part of the gaping hole mend itself, just a fraction from hearing his genuine words of comfort.

"I know you believe that but I'm not sure I do." she said before she could stop herself. Clary saw his jaw twitch and eyes flicker with pain, subtle indications of his torment, that were gone in an instant.

"You don't have to. I'll believe enough for the both of us." he replied, touching their foreheads together. God why did he have to be so honest and pure and eloquent? She looked up at his blazing eyes and felt the heat projecting from them, or maybe it was his body, because she had suddenly realized how close together they were standing. He was close enough that the sides of their noses were touching.

"I'm sorry - " she said breathlessly, moving to the other side of the room. "God, I'm such a mess. Was there something you needed when you came?"

Jace was staring after her, his eyes fixated on hers. His hands fell to his side and he blinked quickly before picking up a sketchbook from the desk.

"You left this in my room...the last time you were - " he said, shifting between feet uncomfortably. He seemed to be struggling to identify the appropriate word. " - there. I thought I'd give it to you to help freshen your mind." he extended his arm to offer it to her.

She moved closer and received it, without breaking eye contact with him. "Thank you. I also have something for you."

Clary moved to pick up the other sketch book she had been looking at. She showed him the picture she was fascinated with. "I don't know if you've seen it, but I was completely intrigued by its beauty and intricacy. I thought you should have it."

Clary was taken aback when she saw his features soften as he stared down at the picture, tracing his thumb lightly over the two people. He seemed transfixed by the drawing and she wondered if this was something he and Shadowhunter Clary had dreamed about.

"Thank you." he said sincerely. "Have a good night."

She nodded and he turned to head towards the door, holding the sketchbook protectively in the crook of his elbow.

After a long, scorchingly satisfying shower to wash off some stress and anxiety, Clary crawled into bed and pulled out the sketchbook that Jace had given her. She opened the sketchbook and began flipping through the artwork. Once again, she found herself very impressed with Shadowhunter Clary - her - work. Each piece was carefully illustrated, with undeniable passion and expressive techniques. There were sketches of the exterior of the Institute, a grand city she'd never seen before, a colorful forest, a crystal clear lake and boys with white/black angel wings. She paused at a sketch of Jace. Clary was awed by the precise details and the wonderful representation of his facial structure.

There was no warning when something inside her came alive, whirring and leaping, soaring and screaming. She couldn't stop admiring the incredible sketch that seemed to capture Jace's true beauty. Her heart was pumping wildly in her chest and she felt every nerve ending in her body catch fire. _She saw herself leaning against the headboard, sketchbook propped against her bent knees and pencil poised over the paper. _Something inside of her was waking and begging for freedom, Clary felt short of breath as her mind prickled with the strangest sensation. _Jace was snoring lightly, his arm carelessly thrown across his chest, his hair flopped messily to the side. His chest was rising steadily with each breath. Clary smiled to herself as she added the final few strokes to her sketch. _Something inside her mind unlocked and the flood came storming out. _Satisfied with her sketch, she tossed the book onto the bedside table and crawled back into bed, leaning her head on Jace's chest. Clary was transported back into the scenes from the other night. Jace's hand inching up her thigh. His lips crushing hers. The kisses that pleased their insatiable hunger, the touches that inspired the desire for more, and the love that burned hotter than falling stars. _

Clary stood up in shock and gasped for air. _Her first real memory. _This wasn't just a moment in her Shadowhunter life about training, battles and fighting. This was a real and pure memory. And it was about Jace. This, was exactly what she needed.

Clary grabbed the sketchbook and a hoodie before sprinting outside into the dark night. Her luck ended when she realized it was thundering and raining outside. She cussed before tucking the sketchbook into the hoodie, in order to protect it, and dashing towards the Institute. It was not a pleasant or short journey either. Her lungs were burning, her arm was sore from clutching the sketchbook tightly and she was totally drenched. But it was impossible for her to stop now.

She finally reached the Institute and tried to open the door. She was surprised to discover it granted her admission and she quietly entered the building. There were a few Shadowhunters roaming the halls, checking monitors and switching duty. Clary prefered not to be questioned so she hid in the shadows before finding the corridor for the main bedrooms.

She wasn't sure which room belonged to Jace, so she knocked on the first door, hoping to obtain directions from the tenant who would likely be very displeased, given that it was nearly 2:00 in the morning. Clary was very aware of what a disaster she looked like. Perhaps even a bit insane. But she had more pressing matters.

The door opened and a gruff voice replied with annoyance. "What do you need? Underhill is rather occupied at the moment."

Clary blushed, feeling incredibly stupid. "Sorry to bother you at this hour. Could you please direct me in the direction of Jace's room?"

The man raised his eyebrows suggestively. "You look quite wet enough to me."

Clary stifled an exasperated sigh and stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Jace's room please?" She was growing impatient. She had to see Jace, even if it was 2:00 in the morning.

The man smirked and flicked his hand sending a series of blue flames of fire that began a trail leading further down the corridor. After quickly thanking the man, she hurried off to follow the flames and finally reached the end of the trail. Clary's desperation overpowered her reason and she rapped on the door sharply. When there was no reply, Clary banged her fist on the door several times before it suddenly struck air.

"By the angel...who the fuck is interrupting my sleep at this mother fu - Clary?" Jace said his eyes widening with shock. "By the angel are you alright? Did you walk here in the storm? God you're even more reckless than before." he dragged her inside the room and tried to usher her into a chair.

"I need to show you something - " Clary said trying to unwrap the sketchbook which had surprisingly remained dry in the hoodie.

"Put this on." Jace said, as he tossed her a dark red quarter zip sweater and black jeans. "I'll turn around."

He really didn't have to, given he'd seen everything already. Clary was incredibly eager to skip the politeness and hospitality, yet she saw he was unmoving. "This looks rather small to be yours." Clary said impatiently yanking off her wet shirt.

"They were yours…" Jace said still facing the opposite wall. He was shirtless and his sweats hung low on his hips. Clary averted her eyes, blushing inadvertently. "Most of your clothes somehow managed to end up in my closet…" he said uncomfortably.

Clary was unable to contain it any longer. "I remember." she said watching the muscles of his back tense. He turned slowly to face her and she moved forward to show him the picture.

"I remember our first time. I was looking at the sketchbook you gave me and I saw this sketch I did of you and suddenly I remembered our first time. Jace this is the first real _memory _I have of you and of the Shadoworld. It was so detailed and perfect and God something just clicked inside of me. I've wasted too much time debating whether or not I wanted to be a part of the Shadoworld. Not only did that sketch of you trigger this perfect memory of us, but it sparked something back to life inside of me. Jace - " Clary said struggling to get all her words out. She had so much she wanted to say and she couldn't seem to be able to say them fast enough. Jace's hand found its way to her cheek again and she felt that it was exactly where it was supposed to be. His eyes were trained on her, waiting for her to explain herself in this half crazed and disastrous state.

"Jace I need to see the Silent Brothers. Now." Clary said breathlessly.

Jace stared at her with bewilderment before beaming and crushing her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled the familiar scent of him. It was so simple then. The sketch of Jace, reminded her of their first time and their undying love. This love was something that she had fought for in another life, and was something she had to fight for now.

"Clarrisa Fairchild. Do you accept that this procedure is physically, mentally and emotionally draining?" Brother Jeremiah asked.

Clary wore a white hospital gown, spotted with blue dots. She stood before a circle of Silent Brothers, Jace holding her hand as they stood in the centre. His hand in hers was the only reason she needed to be there. It was also the only thing keeping her in the room instead of bolting from the premises.

"Yes."

"Do you accept that your potential for retaining, seeing and remembering aspects of the Shadoworld makes you an ideal candidate for the procedure, however it does not guarantee success?"  
"Yes."

"Do you understand that this procedure will only be successful if it is the will of the angels?"

"Yes."

"Do you understand that this procedure has 4 different outcomes. You may receive all your memories of the Shadoworld back, given it is the angels' will. The procedure may also result in failure and leave you in your current position. Or the procedure may result in failure and decimate any progress you've made since the angels removed your memories. The procedure may also result in death, if your mundane body is not strong enough to withstand the process."

"Yes."

"Clarissa Fairchild, we ask you one final time. Are you fully willing and consensual of this procedure, knowing the possible outcomes and risk factors?"

Clary felt her breath catch but she also felt Jace's hand in hers, reminding her why she was there. Clary also felt an obligation to her real identity press her to say, "Yes."

"Then we will proceed as soon as you are ready." the Silent Brothers shuffled into the chamber next to this room.

Clary turned to Jace, feeling panic ignite inside of her. He seemed to realize this too and he pulled her close to him.

"Are you sure that this is what you want? Don't do this for me." he said shaking his head at her questioning glace. "Do this for you. Only if you truly believe you want to live life as a Shadowhunter again. Clary, if you decide right now that you would rather live life as a mundane, away from the chaos and the danger, I wouldn't stop you." these last few words seemed to be difficult for him. Clary felt tears rise and she shook her head at Jace.

"Why are you saying this?" she asked gripping his arms tightly, clinging onto him for sanity.

"Clary, please. If this isn't what you want - if you'd be happier in another life - I would find a way to be happy too." he said softly. Each word seemed to cause him a great deal of strain, but his voice was genuine and honest. She didn't doubt that he would let her go if she wanted to.

"I may not remember everything about us," Clary said, finding herself lost again in his penetrating gaze. "But I remember enough to know that you and I - we're worth fighting for. And I'm not just doing this for us. I don't think I would ever be able to live a peaceful life, knowing that I was hiding from another world. I don't want to regret leaving the Shadoworld, or not trying to be a part of it. And now Jace Herondale, please kiss me."

Jace laughed, running his hands through her still damp curls. "That's a bold request." he said gazing down at her.

"I don't want to die without remembering how it felt to kiss you. Really, truly, kiss you - "

The part of her soul, that had been weeping and mourning for so long finally felt free. His lips moved softly, tenderly over hers. Clary knew Jace was also feeling that elation and the indescribable freeing joy that was coursing through her veins.

She broke away, breathing heavily. If she didn't stop now, she most definitely would never leave. "If the outcome is - "

"Don't say goodbye," Jace said his voice strained. "I can't - I refuse to hear you say goodbye again. Luke, Maryse, Simon, Isabelle, Magnus, Alec and I will all be waiting for you when you wake up."

Clary smiled lightly, trying to memorize every inch of him, before she pulled herself away from his arms and turned to enter the chamber.

****Author's Note

Thanks so much for sticking around! I hope you enjoyed this chap. I've had the storyline for this story in my head for so long, it feels great to get it all down on paper.

IK this chap. was a little less action and Shadowhunter fighting/plot stuff but I promise by next chap. we'll see some plot development.

Stay tuned Shadowfam !

*Please lemme know your thoughts on the first chapter!


	2. Chapter Two: Always Remember Me

_Clary was sobbing. She was sobbing and walking very quickly in the opposite direction of the Institute. She was short for breath, as she felt another rune disappear from her shoulder blade. The angels had warned her, and she had disobeyed. Memories of Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Luke...were the last thing she remembered before she felt her identity disappear. Then she was flying. She was soaring in the sky on a motorbike, her arms looped around Jace's waist. Clary felt Jace's body rumble with laughter as he steered the bike through the cool and clear night sky. This, she thought, was what true freedom and carelessness felt like. Then she was cold. Her body felt icy and resistant as she drew the rune that finally destroyed Jonathan. Clary mustered all her strength and courage, before enveloping Jonathan in an embrace of death. She felt the very moment, when the demon blood inside of him was expelled from his body, finally setting his soul free. Her heart clenched a little tighter, as his grip on her slackened and she lowered him gently to the ground. His eyes were now the most vibrant and earthy green, and Clary knew that this was her real brother. The real brother which she had released from the chains of the demon brother. Both brothers, whom she had just killed. She felt guilt and duty fiercely battle and clash within her, as she closed her brother's eyes. Then Clary was laughing. She couldn't stop smiling as she and Simon sat together on a bench in New York. Clary couldn't remember ever feeling more calm, content and unburdened. Then Clary was screaming. Her lungs grappled for air, as her vocal cords strained from exertion, yet the most painful part was the deep loss she felt within her. Clary gripped Jace's jacket and desperately willed for him to open his eyes and look at her. Looking at his still form, unresponsive, wounded and chillingly silent, exposed Clary to the true cruelty and injustice of the world. Then Clary discovered herself standing on an empty plain. On her left, stood the red haired boy who she'd dreamed about as a mundane, however this time he had golden wings. The boy was reaching an arm towards her. _

"_You can join me, sister." he said softly. "But I don't want you to. Not yet."_

_Clary felt a strong impulse to seize his hand pull him into her arms. She desperately wanted to feel the comfort of his embrace but she heard another voice, calling for her on her right. A blond haired boy, Jace, stood with white wings as he extended his hand towards her. His face was pleading and frantic, his eyes searching for hers._

"_Come home with me Clary." he said desperately. Clary looked between both boys, experiencing a deep longing for each side. Her ears were roaring as she drifted between Jonathan and Jace. She closed her eyes, reached out and grasped his hand tightly in hers._

* * *

"Clary you have to wake up!" Isabelle hissed sharply in her ear. "You don't get to die - "

"Let's get her another unit of blood!" Alec called loudly, as the group pushed the gurney quickly down the corridor. "Clear the halls and get out of the way unless you're medical personnel!"

"I believe all critical patients, especially mundane ones, are supposed to stay at the City of Ashes so the Silent Brothers can supervise them - " Raj said scrutinizing the group as they barrelled through the Institute. He was cut short, as Jace seized him by the back of his neck and slammed him against the wall, taking extra effort to twist his wrist sharply.

"_She is a Shadowhunter._ A heroic Shadowhunter who is well above your rank as a soldier and as a human being. She _will _be treated here and you _will _shut your mouth before I do us all the favor, of shutting it for you." Jace snarled menacingly. He shoved Raj away from them, before quickly finding his position beside Clary.

"Let's keep moving." Magnus said urgently. "Her heart rate is dropping - " he flicked his wrist, sending a large flame of his magic to hover over Clary's heart. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his temple as he struggled to hold his magic in place, while the group continued to sprint down the hallway.

They finally reached the infirmary of the Institute and rushed Clary into the largest cubicle. Magnus sharply exhaled, heaving for breath as his magic lost its hold over Clary's heart rate. Helen hurried to join them, snapping on a pair of surgical gloves before pulling out a stele from her pocket. She turned to survey them all carefully.

"The only way to give Clary a chance at survival, is to draw an iratze on her. The procedure took a major toll on her body, it's impressive she's survived this long. Blood, needles and IV will only keep her alive if she stays mundane. But if her body is strong enough to survive the transition from mundane to Shadowhunter, only an iratze will heal her. But we won't know unless we try it. However if she's too weak to survive the transition, the iratze could kill her too." Helen said, positioning the stele over a bare spot on her neck. She waited anxiously for the group to nod their approval.

"Clary is strong enough." Simon said confidently, yet unsurely as he was the first to nod his approval. He wrapped his arm around Isabelle's shoulders, as they watched Helen begin.

"Wait!" Jace exclaimed, surprising everyone in the room. The monitor for Clary's heart rate began beeping in alarm. What if she didn't make it? What if her best chance is to live is as a mundane? What if she forgets him again?

"Jace she can do this." Luke said placing a gentle hand on Jace's shoulder. "We have to give her, her best chance. She needs an opportunity to fight."

Jace squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his hair tightly in his fist before he opened his eyes and nodded. "I want to do it. If you don't mind Helen, I want to draw the rune."

Helen handed him the stele, watching him uncertainly. "Are you sure? If this doesn't work, you can't blame yourself - "

Jace wasn't listening as he proceeded to carefully draw the iratze rune on her neck. He felt his heart pound inside his chest, as his hand instinctively guided the stroke of the stele. His eyes were trained on her face, willing her to wake up. Hell, he didn't even care if she was a Shadowhunter, or if she remembered him. He would be extremely relieved as long as she was alive. Once the rune was drawn, the room was silent as they watched her heart rate rise and crash. Jace was squeezing the hand rails of the gurney so tightly, his knuckles became a brilliant shade of red. The heart monitor flatlined, causing several people to cry out. Jace remained still as his ears roared with disbelief. His eyes were burning as he watched her motionless form, lay helpless on the bed.

"Clary, _it's not time_." he whispered pleadingly. "Come home with me Clary, please - "

His sentence was cut off when the monitor came to life, and her heart rate rose steadily.

"Bloody hell Fray," Simon exclaimed falling to his knees at the foot of her bed. He leaned over her body, his shoulders shaking. Isabelle was crying from a mixture of relief and fright. Luke dropped his forehead into his hands, as he collapsed into a chair. Maryse stood shaken, behind his seat, resting a hand on his back soothingly. Magnus and Alec were giving detailed instructions to the Shadowhunters around them about their schedule and vigilant supervision over Clary.

Jace found himself outside of the infirmary. He leaned his head back, rubbing his face roughly with his hand as he slid down the wall and onto the floor. An icy fist seemed to have ensnared his heart, and was digging its claws deeply into him. Although he would rather Clary lose her memories again than die, he wasn't sure whether he dreaded the heart wrenching feeling of loss again or seeing an absence of recognition on her face more. He'd experienced both in this cruel lifetime and never wanted to relive it.

"Her heart rate has stabilized which means her body is adjusting and recuperating after the strenuous day. But there's no way of knowing whether she'll wake up or become a Shadowhunter again. Just prepare yourselves for all the possible outcomes." Helen said not unkindly. Jace heard murmured responses from the others in the room over the steady thrumming of the heart monitor.

People came in and out, several even attempted to comfort him, but he was inconsolable. Jace was leaning against the wall outside her room, his knees bent and his arms resting on top of them. He brushed off each comforter's hand and focused his attention on listening to Clary's heart monitor imitate each of her heart beats.

"Jace…" Alec said tiredly sliding down the wall beside him. He shoved a plate of sandwiches into his hand. "We've all been up since 2:30 this morning. You should eat."

"I'm not hungry," Jace said gruffly, setting the plate down. Alec rolled his eyes and turned to talk to the opposite wall.

"She's gonna make it, you know?" Alec said calmly. "Since we met Clary I always underestimated her. I didn't doubt her talent, but I questioned her resilience. The weak and close minded were not made for the Shadoworld. But Clary has never ceased to prove me wrong. Each time I think she's gonna fall, she finds a way to stand up again. And I think I resented her for that." Alec said sounding mildly surprised at his own honesty.

"I know she's strong." Jace said playing with the Herondale ring around his neck. "But I also know that the angels' are stronger."

* * *

At least 2 days passed like this. The wait was extremely maddening and Jace felt the strongest urge to scream. Perhaps the most frustrating part, was the feeling of being helpless and powerless. Jace hated having no control over the situation. He remembered the uplifting hope he felt when Clary first remembered his name. It was difficult to remain patient and gentle, while he slowly re-introduced her to the Shadoworld. All he wanted was to see _his _Clary again. He wasn't lying when he told her mundane form, that she was Clary. She would always be Clary, but the Clary that he fell in love with was still locked inside.

"Jace you should really come in the room now. It's been three days." Helen said grimly.

"I'm fine where I am." Jace said watching the distant sun slowly merge with the skyline behind the bustling city.

"Jace," Helen said crouching down so she could speak to him clearly. "It's been three days. The Silent Brothers said she would either rapidly deteriorate or improve in three days. If...in case its the former, you should be there with her." she said softly.

Jace's eyes burned as he turned to meet her steely green eyes. She stood and offered him her hand. He reluctantly accepted it and followed her into Clary's room. He struggled to move closer, when he caught sight of her motionless and drained body laying on the bed. Her skin was even paler than usual and her cheeks were hollow. Jace felt someone's hand wrap around his upper arm. He didn't have to look for him to know that it was Isabelle. Her eyes were puffy and red, but her lips were pursed into a thin line of determination.

She guided him into her empty seat beside Clary's bed, encouraging him to move closer. Isabelle tucked a strand of Clary's hair behind her ear, before moving to stand with their mother. Jace clasped Clary's hand between both of his own and kissed it gently before pressing it to his cheek.

"Do you always have to be so late?" Isabelle hissed under her breath. Alec had just arrived from Alicante looking exhausted and mildly pissed to see his sister.

"While I am incredibly worried for Clary, I am also obliged to fulfill my responsibilities as the Inquisitor of Alicante - "

"Oh 'Inquisitor of Alicante', do you have to mention that in everything you say?" Isabelle snapped. Maryse shot them both warning glares, which they were too busy to notice.

"Why do you have to be bitter about my accomplishments when you're the head of the Institute? Surely, you have some responsibilities that have drawn you away from the infirmary?" Alec whispered loudly.

"Yes but I showed up on time - "

"You literally work in the same building! How could you not show up on time - "

"Can we please show some respect?" Jace exclaimed turning to glare at them both. "I get that you're both channeling your stress into anger right now, but Clary's dying - "

"Jace - " Isabelle gasped looking beyond his shoulder. Tears came streaming down as she cupped her hand to her face to stifle a sob.

Jace swiveled around and was shocked to see Clary's beautiful green eyes staring back. He stood up abruptly and gripped her hand hard. "Clary...do you know - do you _remember _what happened?" He watched Clary lean back against her pillow and close her eyes. When she reopened them, tears were clouding her vision.

"Until I die right?" she said smiling dazedly at him. Somewhere behind Jace, Simon let out a loud whoop, which was immediately admonished by Helen or Isabelle. Jace laughed and kissed the back of her hand, feeling the icy hand around his heart melt from the fire that reignited inside of him.

* * *

"Hand to hand?" Isabelle asked grinning as she tossed her whip to the side.

"I still remember how to fight," Clary smiled discarding her kindjals. She deftly dodged Isabelle's first swing and landed a sharp blow to her stomach. Isabelle didn't even flinch as she elbowed Clary's jaw.

Since Clary was discharged, she'd been training non-stop with either Isabelle, Jace, Alec or even Magnus. Her fighting skills seemed instinctive, but she was surprised to discover that Shadowhunters studied forensics among other things as part of their training. According to Isabelle, determining causes of death enabled Shadowhunters to better understand their enemy (either Shadowhunter, downworlder or demon) and catch them. Her days were spent training physically and studying Shadoworld forensics.

Each blow was a little more painful than she remembered, as she reoriented herself with her fighting techniques. Clary blocked the next punch aimed at her shoulder and the second one flying towards her ribs. She nocked her foot behind Isabelle's ankle and succeeded in knocking her off of her feet. Isabelle was not winded for long, as she snapped Clary's wrists aside and used her legs to knock her onto her back. Isabelle smoothly pinned her arms down with her knees and smiled victoriously over Clary.

"Not bad for a year and a half without practice." Isabelle smiled helping Clary up. Clary stretched her sore muscles and grabbed a bottle of water.

"I guess it was all muscle memory." she shrugged gulping some water. "My muscles are already aching though,"

"You're sure its from the training and not the mind blowing, hot and passionate, reunited lovers sex?" Isabelle asked catching the bottle Clary threw. She smirked and pressed the bottle to her lips.

"You're right, now I won't be able to walk straight for a week." Clary grinned widely. Two nights after she woke up, she used every pity card to convince Helen to discharge her.

"_I can't believe you remember me," Jace said as they happily walked away from the infirmary, hand in hand. _

"_I don't think I ever really forgot you." Clary said thoughtfully. "Maybe mentally, but not emotionally. I still remembered what it felt like to love you."_

_For more than a year Clary had felt that gaping hole inside of her. It was constantly nagging and tugging at her. Now, she felt complete._

_Jace smiled gaily as they rounded the corner. He hadn't stopped talking and smiling since she first woke up. It had reached a point where Helen had to call Alec to use his Inquisitor authority, and command Jace to return the next day so that Clary could rest. _

"_Say it again," he said insistently, sounding similar to a petulant child. "Say my name again, so I know for sure that this is real."_

_They stopped outside his bedroom door and Clary turned to face him, trying to suppress an amused smile. With as much seriousness as she could muster, she said "I am Clary Fairchild and you are Jace Herondale. And I really would appreciate it if you let me kiss you now."_

_Jace shook his head with joyful disbelief before crashing his lips onto hers. She looped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his perfect golden hair. She felt his heart race against his chest as he leaned into her, so that she could feel every inch of his body. Clary restrained herself from moaning as his lips travelled down her neck. She fumbled for the door knob behind her, finally turning it and guiding them into the room. Jace kicked the door shut with the back of his foot, without breaking their kiss. He yanked off his shirt before grabbing her waist again and pulling her to him. Clary gasped as his hands slid under her thin shirt and pulled it over her head. She tugged down his pants while trailing small kisses leading all the way to his mouth. Jace breathed heavily as he hoisted her up and moved them onto the unmade bed. _

_Without bothering to move under the sheets, Jace slid her pants off and inched his hands up her body. Clary pulled him by the underside of his jaw so that they were face to face. She found herself lost again in his golden eyes. Jace kissed every part of her face, sending a wave of pleasure down her spine. She impatiently waited for him to kiss her mouth again. She groaned into his mouth, when she felt him move into her - _

"Lightwood we have a problem," Raj said standing stiffly at the entrance of the training room.

Isabelle seemed to struggle to refrain from rolling her eyes, but she managed to turn and address him cordially. "What's wrong Raj?"

"A Shadowhunter was found murdered." he said bluntly. Clary and Isabelle had been glancing at each other warily and amusedly, now stopped short and turned to study him.

"Who? How?" Isabelle asked. "You know what don't answer. Clary get changed we'll head out to the scene."

Within minutes, Clary and Isabelle had portaled to Times Square. They were greeted by a full scale forensics team that was quickly descending a ladder that lead to the sewers.

"How do we know the Shadowhunter didn't die from a demon attack?" Clary asked, watching the New Yorkers walk by them obliviously. It was strange not being noticed by mundanes again.

"There must be signs of foul play that aren't affiliated with demon cause of death." Isabelle replied fidgeting with the whip bracelet around her wrist.

"Talk Raj," Isabelle said walking quickly towards the ladder. Raj eyed Clary strangely before hurrying to catch up with the head of the Institute.

"Female mid 20's was found by a few newly initiated Shadowhunters on patrol in the sewers. No visible signs of trauma, no murder weapon or cause of death yet but the forensic team is fairly certain it is a homicide." Raj said almost tripping on the ladder in his attempt to keep stride with Isabelle and Clary. They rounded the corner before reaching the crime scene.

Jace was crouching beside the corpse and prodding it lightly with his gloved hands. He turned to acknowledge them when they entered. "There's marks around her wrists that suggest she was bound. Her rate of decomposition also indicates she's been here for about a month or two."

"Cause of death?" Clary asked crouching to join Jace. She pulled on a pair of gloves and examined the body carefully.

"Her skull is fractured in several places. Likely a blow to the head." Jace said grimly.

Clary reached her hand out to take a swab of the victim's clothing. "Look at this," she murmured, shaking her head. "It appears to be some residue of Seelie dust." she turned and locked eyes with Jace. "Looks like we've got some suspects."

* * *

"The forensics team is working on the body, I've got extra patrols in the area and I want the two of you to visit the Seelie court." Isabelle said without looking up from the corpse.

"The queen is dead who's in her stead?" Clary asked sliding some daggers into her gear.

"She was never really killed by Jonathan, just banished to another dimension for a while." Isabelle said sounding rather disappointed. "It takes a lot more to take down a bitch."

"How diplomatically, you speak of her." Simon said from the doorway. Isabelle's face brightened when he entered and Clary couldn't help but grin. Jace seemed rather annoyed and busied himself with sharpening some swords.

He pressed a chaste kiss on her lips and peered over her shoulder. "I can smell this from outside the Institute, it's worse than the garbage behind the Hunter's Moon."

"Well since dead bodies have such a repulsive odor, that says something about how you smell, doesn't it?" Jace said nonchalantly as he sheathed two swords in sync. Isabelle rolled her eyes and shared a knowing look with Clary.

"Actually I use eau de youthfulness. Because when you're old, wrinkly and your looks have faded, I will be much handsomer than you." Simon said sounding quite pleased with his own argument.

Jace scoffed and crossed his arms arrogantly. "Even when I'm 102 with white hair, I'll _still _be the most attractive person in the room - next to you of course." he said, winking at Clary.

"Bold of you to assume you'll live to 102 - "

"Now that you've both had your daily dose of petty insults and banter, I think we should go." Clary said leading Jace by the arm towards the door.

* * *

They were heading towards the entrance of the Seelie Realm in NYC. Jace's hand slipped into Clary's, as it had been doing more frequently since she returned. Not that she minded.

"I don't think the Seelie Queen will be very pleased to see me. Or you." Clary said watching the cars pass beside her.

"She may be a little hostile, given that your brother banished her to another dimension." Jace said as they cut through the busy streets. "But she would also be very indebted to you because you banished him. The entire world is indebted to you."

Clary felt a sharp pain strike her heart at the memories this triggered. Losing her angelic powers had stripped her of her identity. Living as a mundane was not truly living, but rather surviving and knowing something was missing - wrong - incomplete. The process of regaining her memories was like having stitches in her brain being ripped wide open as the flood of reality overwhelmed her. Clary's whole life flashed by her, but the moments where she felt the strongest human emotions had resonated with her. Losing her memories, riding a motorbike with Jace, killing Jonathan...they were the best and worst moments of her life. They challenged her perception of the world and forced her to truly consider which world she wanted to live in. The Shadoworld had brought her nothing but pain, loss, danger and heartbreak since the first day she discovered it. Her mother was kidnapped, killed, her best friend became a vampire, her father tried to kill her, her brother tried to destroy the universe. Falling in love and at peace with the Shadoworld had been one of the most dangerous things she'd ever done. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because she had something so precious and self-defining to lose. In that moment, with the angel Jonathan and angel Jace reaching towards her, she was forced to confront her place in the world.

The Shadoworld was her home and her family. But it had also upturned life as she knew it and brought her so much grief and sorrow. In that moment with the two angel boys, she had to decide between joining her brother or returning to Jace. In that moment, the greatest loves, friendships, lessons and experiences of her life overpowered the misery and loss that came attached with a life as a Shadowhunter.

"I'm sorry that you suffered for a year." Clary said after a moment of silence. "At least I was oblivious to the reality of my situation. But you were left to deal with the mess I made."

"Every day, I checked on you. You never saw me but I had to see you. I didn't stay or listen to your conversations but I just had to make sure, for my sanity, that you were alright. And I hated myself. I couldn't understand how I could love you so much and fail to notice that something was wrong with you. I should have known that you were in trouble. You shouldn't have done it alone, and I've hated myself more than I've hated the angels, for losing you again." Jace said looking straight ahead as they arrived at the bridge overlooking the entrance to the Seelie realm.

Clary stopped him and turned so that they were face to face. "There's nothing you could have done and nothing you could have said to change the consequences of my actions. In fact, if you'd been there to watch me slowly disappear...I don't think either of us would have survived that torment."

Jace leaned forwards so that their foreheads were touching, gently holding her face with his hands. "Promise me that you'll always tell me if you're in trouble. I don't want you to ever go through something like that alone again. Promise me."

His eyes were burning into hers, begging for her to agree. Clary placed her hands on top of his and breathed deeply. "I promise. I wanted to spare both of us that pain. There's nothing that either of us could have done."

"I don't understand why the angels would punish you for saving the world." Jace said shaking his head. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"That you're going to cuss the angels when you reach heaven?" Clary asked causing Jace to laugh loudly. She never realized how much she'd missed the sound of his laughter.

"I believe that they gave you the power to create runes, so that you could be the one to destroy Jonathan. I believe that this was part of their plan. Then when they realized you were mastering and developing your powers too quickly, they felt alarmed. They were scared to give such a powerful weapon to a single Shadowhunter, so they took it from you." Jace explained. Clary felt some comfort in this explanation but her resentful gratitude to the angels had not diminished.

"At least that's what I've been convincing myself. It's the only semi-logical reasoning I can think of for taking you away. Really rather stupid logic." Jace said brushing her nose lightly with his. "I'm tempted to tell you to just let the world burn next time."

Clary laughed amusedly. "Why are you tempted to tell me but not really telling me?"

"Well I'd be forcing you to go against that selfless and brave part of you that I fell in love with. And as much as I hate the angels' decision, I can't be the one to take away another part of you." Jace said simply. Clary was deeply touched by this and closed the distance between them, kissing him hard on the lips.

Jace broke away and stared sternly at her. "But I will tell you, that next time I want to be informed of your recklessly brave decision to save the world and sacrifice yourself."

Clary laughed and turned to face the bridge. "We better go before Isabelle realizes how long we've been out."

Together, they jumped over the bridge and into the water.

* * *

"I'm not sure whether I should impale you with my spear or invite you to have dinner." the Seelie Queen said scathingly from where she perched on her throne. She was in her younger form but her eyes were sharp and critical as she surveyed them disdainfully.

"It's lovely to see you too." Clary said wearily eyeing the pompous and haughty woman.

"Where is Jonathan Morgenstern? We have some unfinished business." the Seelie Queen said, her tone deadly and bitter.

"He is dead." Clary said plainly. The Seelie Queen's face remained impassive as she narrowed her eyes at them.

"You expect me to believe that you were able to kill the most powerful Shadowhunter alive? Do you think I'm a naive imbecile?" she said cooly.

"Whether you believe us or not, that's to your discretion. We're here on Clave business. A Shadowhunter was murdered, her body was dumped in the sewers and we found traces of Seelie dust on her clothing."  
"You barge into my court and dare to accuse my folk of murder? Well that's simply ridiculous." the queen said indignantly. "If you won't tell me where Jonathan Morgenstern is, I see no reason to cooperate with pawns of the Clave."

"Your highness, the Clave has the authority to charge you with treason for protecting a wanted fugitive and encouraging him to destroy the world. However, out of political diplomacy and respect, the Clave decided to maintain peace. You ought to be very helpful." Jace said very politely addressing the cunning woman on the throne. Clary had less patience to deal with such a frivolous and deceitful woman, despite the crown and swords she had at hand.

The queen pursed her lips and considered this carefully. "The Seelie dust you discovered on the clothing could have been traces of Seelie hallucinogen drugs. Shadowhunters can easily access those without interference or foul play from the fair folk. You two have much experience with that don't you?" she asked snidely. Clary felt her cheeks burn and patience wither.

"There were indications that she was bound and there are skull fractures that suggest she was struck in the head. We need a list of soldiers from your court who were patrolling or sent on missions in that area of the city. We'll need them for questioning at the Institute." Clary said never breaking eye contact with the queen. The queen seemed to find Clary amusing, which only infuriated her more.

"Very well. But I am confident that you will not find your murderer amongst my people. Not today, at least." the Seelie Queen said with a steely voice, before waving her hand in dismissal.

As Clary and Jace reached the door, the Seelie Queen called out, "Be careful where you angel half-breeds prod. You may throw fuel onto a fire that's already been burning."  
Clary felt chills tingle down her spine and the Seelie Queen's eagle eyes on her back as she opened the door and lead the way outside, without glancing back.

Within a few hours, a group of unarmed Seelie soldiers were waiting in a room off the side of the interrogation room. As head of the Institute, Isabelle would normally conduct interrogations but she was more interested in deconstructing corpse. Jace and Clary watched the men through the one way glass, trying to decide who their first interviewee should be.

"We're going to have to structure our sentences very specifically and particularly. They may not be able to lie but they are masters at distorting the truth." Jace said crossing his arms and scanning the suspects.

"Isabelle's report says that they identified the woman as Romana Gateshead. She was sent to deal with some demon break ins at a downworld pub near Brooklyn. She never returned from the mission. Her family lives at the Italian Institute." Clary said flipping through the papers in the folder.

"Let's bring in the first one on the list with connections to the pub."

They entered the interrogation room, which was small and square. It was windowless except for the one way glass through which a team of Shadowhunters was sitting behind. A rather young, tall and pointy faced Seelie was seated on one end of the table. Clary and Jace moved to sit on the other side.

"Ferranti Boode." Jace said greeting the man with familiarity. "It's been a long time." Clary looked between the men surprised to see the Seelie grin back at him, baring all his teeth.  
"Jace Herondale," Ferranti drawled. "You look as arrogant as the day you broke into my home and arrested my sister. Tell me, was it awkward to interrogate her knowing you'd slept with her and then dumped her?"

Jace's face remained stony as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "That's not what we're discussing. According to the Seelie guard schedule, you were off duty that day. But security footage shows that you were at the Howling Hell Pub."

"Why are my whereabouts and actions being questioned if you already know the answer?" Ferranti asked raising an eyebrow. His chiseled face was indifferent and bored as he eyed Jace with underlying hatred.

"Did you ever meet a Shadowhunter by the name Romana Gateshead?" Clary asked watching Ferranti's sharp eyes swivel and focus on her. She placed an image of her in front of him.

His lips twitched and he surveyed her curiously. "Yes she was the only Shadowhunter in the pub. She waited at the table near the back and killed the waitress who had been glamoured as a demon."

"Did you interact with her at all? Talk, dance, drink, fight or have sexual relations?" Jace asked leaning forward and clasping his hands together.

"She sat down beside me to order a drink and I immediately got up and left." Ferranti said growing irritated.

"Why?"

"She was a filthy privileged Shadowhunter who acted superior to downworlders. What was I supposed to do? Hug and congratulate her for doing her job?" Ferranti sneered, his careless demeanour disappearing.

"You seem to have a distasteful opinion of her. Did her sense of entitlement drive you to murder her?" Clary asked watching his cold features form a scowl.

"I did not murder that privileged Shadowhunter nor did I have a distasteful opinion of her. It was more of a scornful perception. You, on the other hand…" Ferranti said scanning her up and down. "I regard you with admiration and attraction - "

"Don't speak to her," Jace said standing up abruptly and grabbing the file. "We'll be in touch." Clary stood and followed Jace to the door.

"Ah I seem to have struck a nerve." Ferranti smirked. "I assure you redheaded beauty, that he will pretend to love you and then leave you. He did it to every girl he met and you my dear, are not special. I however, will treat you as - "

His sentence was cut off as Jace slammed the door of the interrogation room shut. Jace and Clary interrogated 5 other soldiers who had been in the area that day. None seemed to have motive or encounter with Romana.

"You slept with Ferranti's sister, ditched her and then arrested her? No wonder he wanted to slap you." Clary snickered as they made their way to the lab.

"I was wasted and reckless and I didn't know she poisoned people's drinks with Seelie drugs." Jace said defensively as they entered the forensics lab.

Isabelle was leaning over the corpse and examining it carefully. "Any suspects?"

"Not really," Clary said yawning as she plopped down on a stool. "Find anything?"

"There's marks on her ribs and back that suggest she was tortured. Her ribs are fractured in several places, there's severe bruising and slash marks and her back is completely burned." Isabelle said regretfully. "It's reasonable to assume that the victim was tortured, murdered from a blow to the head and then her body was dumped into the sewers."

"What about the Seelie dust?" Jace asked leaning against a counter.

"The only thing it indicates is that her body was in contact with a Seelie. It could have been any Seelie." Isabelle said typing on the monitor. "I'm going to extract all her bones tomorrow. You two can retire for the night. And as head of the Institute I'm forbidding the two of you from making too much noise at night. There's been more than 10 noise complaints about your very vocal late night activities."

* * *

"It's dripping everywhere, be careful!"

"We'll clean it later, it tastes so good - "

"God I could eat this all day…"

"But it's so much better at night."

"Do you think we're being too loud?"

"Leave some of the chow mein for me!" Clary exclaimed poking him sharply with her chopsticks. "God you've eaten like 3 cartons already."

"It's been a stressful day Clary, stop fat shaming me." Jace said allowing her to dump some of the noodles into her plate.

"We're at a dead end on the case," Clary said watching the lights of New York light up the night sky. Jace and Clary were sitting on the roof of the Institute, eating their Chinese food. They sat on the edge of the roof, their legs hanging over the ledge. Looking out at this city, at her home, reminded her of why she sacrificed everything in the first place.

"Once the bones of the body are examined, we'll have more information." Jace assured her as he popped a piece of beef into his mouth.

"I missed this," Clary said leaning her head against Jace's shoulder. It was the strangest feeling of rightness in the world, as she sat on the roof of the Institute, eating take out food with her best friend and looking out at the living, pulsating and bustling city of New York.

Jace pressed a kiss to the top of her head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Me too. Although I feel like this happiness is going to disappear."  
"That's optimistic." Clary said, setting her empty carton beside her.

"Every time we seem to find ourselves, find happiness, it always disappears. It's like we can't allow ourselves to get too comfortable or happy because the world will equalize our joy with more pain." Jace said tossing the empty carton besider hers. Clary turned to look at him. His hair was blowing lightly in the night wind and his eyes were scanning the skies as if he were searching for incoming attacks.

"You know what I think?" Clary asked, nudging his cheek with her head. He turned to gaze down at her, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"What do you think?" he replied softly.

"I think we should just fuck the world. Fuck the rules, fuck the natural order, fuck each other." Clary said seriously, despite Jace's laughter. "I mean it Jace. It's like you said, nothing is permanent. I could die tomorrow or you could walk into a Valak memory demon, it's all so temporary and fragile. But we've lost each other too many times now, to take anything for granted. We can't let our problems and evil brothers control our lives anymore. In this life, we're always going to have another demon or evil queen to defeat. But I don't want to waste another day without you. We have to just live for the moments we can't put into words, because there's no certainty of anything in this world, except the present."

Jace stared at her with a sort of awe and burning desire in his eyes. "I thought I was the one who made grand poetic speeches."

"_Jace,_" Clary said furrowing her brow at him.

The corner of his mouth quirked upward and he shook his head at her. "I can't wait to fuck the world and break the rules, as long as I'm doing it with you. You're right about how there's no certainty in this world. But there is one exception."

"That I'll always love you and you'll always love me?" Clary guessed feeling the cool air brush against her hot skin.

"Well yes, but more than that. After everything we've faced, and everything we've overcome, I realized that the only reason we've succeeded is because we did it together. Now I know for sure, that even if there's a million more demon brothers, vengeful queens, spiteful angels, the world is burning or if all hell has broken loose...I know that we'll make it. It's just you and me against the world, and I know that we'll always win." Jace said brushing their noses together.

"You have to stop saying such elegant speeches, they make mine look weak." Clary said, cupping his face in her palm. She felt Jace's chest rumble with laughter as he pulled her close to him.

"I love your speeches." he whispered assuringly before pressing his lips against hers. Clary inhaled Jace's crisp and familiar scent, as she tangled her fingers in his soft hair. His arms surrounded her as he pulled them away from the ledge and onto the blanket. Clary leaned back so that she was resting her head on Jace's chest.

They were laying on the blanket, looking up at the endless sky. She turned so that she could see his face and kissed the underside of his jaw fondly.

"Try not to snore too loudly," Clary quipped as she pulled the quilt over them.

Jace scoffed and adjusted the pillow under his head. "I do not snore. And if I do, then it's a sexy snore."

"Snores can't be sexy, not even yours." Clary said indignantly, watching his face recoil with disbelief.

"That may just be, the rudest thing you've said to me Clary Fairchild."

* * *

"Where the HELL have the two of you been?" Isabelle demanded when they reported to the ops centre of the Institute. "Wait - never mind, I don't want to know. I've been looking for you guys everywhere. I was even brave enough to peek into Jace's room. There's another Shadowhunter body."

"By the angel, where?" Jace asked strapping his weapons belt on. He tossed Clary her favorite kindjals which she sheathed quickly into the straps of her gear.

"Maia discovered it in the woods near Taki's Diner." Isabelle said sounding very stressed. "I need the two of you two go examine it, I have to talk to the family."

"And she's sure it's a homicide?" Jace said tucking a few daggers into his leather jacket.

"She says it's very obvious." Isabelle said running her hand through her hair. "I sent Simon to go help out - "

"You sent the vampire on Clave business?" Jace said incredulously. "You can't be that short staffed, I mean Isabelle I know he's your...current fling but - "

"Well I would have sent the two of you but seeing as I couldn't seem to _locate _you - "

"We'll go now." Clary interrupted, sensing an argument was about to ensue she shoved Jace towards the door.

In half an hour, they were in the woods near Taki's Diner. The Institute's forensics team were spread out, examining the area for clues and evidence. Simon and Maia were standing at a distance from the group.

"Sleeping beauty is awake," Simon chirped eyeing Jace's tousled hair. Jace sneered in response but Clary elbowed him in the gut to keep him from starting an argument at 10 am in the morning.

"What's going on Maia?" Clary asked, trying to figure out where the body was.

"I was going for a run this morning with Bat and we...got distracted...by the lovely ground. The next thing I know, I turn to the side and a corpse is staring back at me." Maia said uncomfortably. "I saw a rune so I notified Isabelle."

Simon and Maia lead them to the body under the tall oak trees. Clary scanned the partially decomposed body, examining the relative height, weight and features that were distinguishable.

"Looks like a male, early-mid 40s. There's burn marks and stab wounds on the abdomen and back of the victim. This sounds rather familiar." Clary noted as she lifted the man's wrists.

"Signs of being bound." Jace sighed standing up and pulling off his gloves. "Let's get this moved back to the Institute." he called to the other Shadowhunters.

They returned back to the Institute where Isabelle was ordering people around. Clary watched amusedly as Raj trailed after her attempting to take notes of her instructions. She suspected he had a little crush on Isabelle which was barely even noticed by her. She wasn't sure whether she should pity him or admire him for his continuous attempts to impress her.

"Do we think it's the same killer?" Jace asked as they approached the lab. Raj was helping Isabelle into her lab coat, looking very stressed and overworked.

"There's injuries that suggest the same form of torture on both victims. I'm leaning towards the same killer. Indications of being bound suggest kidnap. We discovered Seelie dust on the second body too. We identified him as Orville Marshston, father of 5." Isabelle recited pulling a very long worm from the victim's intestine. "If there's a third victim like this and we've failed to catch the culprit, Alec is going to pay us a visit. I'm not sure I can stand seeing his judgemental and haughty face as he tries to take over the case."

"The Clave will give us a search warrant," Jace said crossing his arms and wrinkling his nose at the body. "But I don't see a motive."  
"They can't give us a search warrant for the whole Seelie realm. There's so many dimensions and possible locations the murderer could be in. We need a suspect to get a warrant. But we need a motive and evidence to find a suspect. The Seelie dust on both victims tell us nothing, except that they were in contact with a Seelie shortly before their death." Isabelle said forcefully yanking out the heart of the victim. "Pity, this was rather a healthy and fit heart."

"Why would a Seelie want to kidnap, torture and kill Shadowhunters?" Clary asked pulling on a lab coat to help.

"Well everyone seems to want to kill us." Jace said as he flipped through the autopsy report. "Orville was killed from a slit to the throat. Poor fellow,"

"Lightwood!" a voice called urgently from the door. "We have a problem at Central Park - "

"Raj stop telling me that we have a problem and just tell me _the problem_." Isabelle snapped stripping her gloves off. Clary got the slightest impression that this was not the first time they'd had this conversation.

"It's not another murder is it?" Jace asked already heading towards the door.  
"There's a huge outbreak of hellhound demons running rampant at Central Park. A warlock that lives in a condo a block from the park reported it 10 minutes ago. The amount of demons is not normal." Raj said running out of breath as he tried to get all the info out at once. "It suggests intentional demon summoning - "

"Clary, Jace let's go. You too Raj, we need at least 50 Shadowhunters to report to Central Park." Isabelle said tossing her lab coat aside and leading the run towards the door.

There wasn't much time to properly don gear but they had enough time to grab a few weapons on their way out of the Institute. Marty was a warlock who occasionally worked for the New York Institute, stood outside with a portal waiting for them. One by one, soldiers melded into the portal and was transported to Central Park. It had been more than a year since Clary had seen this many demons at once. The hellhound demons were ravenously tearing across the streets, and destroying anything that their sharply filed teeth could sink into. To the mundanes, it must have appeared to be a wild pack of feral dogs vandalizing the city. To the Shadowhunters, this was a planted demon attack.

Clary and Isabelle raced towards a group of hellhounds tearing apart a large mundane dog. Isabelle's whip latched itself onto the most ferocious of the group as she strangled the demon to death. The hellhounds' companions turned and set their eyes on their approaching forms. The 5 remaining demons, divided themselves between Clary and Isabelle. Two of them pounced towards Clary, claws extended and bloody teeth bared. Clary sidestepped the beady eyed one and drove her seraph blade into the larger one. The larger hellhound howled with rage as a gaping wound began pooling with blood. The beady eyed hellhound leaped towards her as she raised her blade and sliced its paw off. While it collapsed to the ground, Clary beheaded it in one clean strike.

Over its shoulder, Clary saw that Isabelle had succeeded in killing another hellhound while the other two had torn the whip from her hand. The larger hellhound began charging towards Clary and barking madly. Clary gripped the dagger strapped to her thigh, spun and kicked the advancing hellhound squarely in the jaw, before throwing the dagger straight into the chest of the hellhound facing Isabelle. It disintegrated instantly, allowing Isabelle to unsheath her spear and impale the other demon. Clary was knocked to the ground by the larger hellhound who was violently jerking and snapping at her face. Clary wrinkled her nose in disgust from the demon's breath and strained against its dangerous fangs. Just as she felt her arms slacken, the hellhound was ripped away from her and tossed aside. She leapt to her feet and picked up the fallen seraph blade. Isabelle had speared the hellhound firmly into the ground, as she turned and grinned at Clary. Clary smiled back as she advanced with her sword and proceed to slash the hellhound across the throat.

There was no time for celebration as Clary shoved Isabelle to the side and plunged her blade into the chest of a hellhound that had crept in from behind. The park was akin to a mad zoo as hellhounds tore across the grass and their eyes shone with murderous intent. Clary shoulder butted a hellhound before slashing another with two daggers. Finally after two long hours the demons were all banished from wreaking havoc in Central Park.

Isabelle was giving instructions to several Shadowhunters, sending a group to patrol the outskirts of the boundary for strays. There were a few injured Shadowhunters, but no deaths as far as Clary could see. She moved towards Jace who was leaning over some of the hellhounds' decapitated body parts.

"A demon got you in the back," Clary said tugging at his jacket and pulling a stele from her pocket. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded watching him reach into the neck of the hellhound and withdraw a sword.

"These are my favorite seraph blades," he protested, wincing as he stood up straight. "They can be salvaged with some soap and hard scrubbing."

Clary shook her head with exasperation as she forced him to take off his jacket. His jacket and t-shirt were soaked in blood, but his attention was on scanning the area for more of his beloved swords.

"You need to get your priorities straight," Clary grumbled as she nudged him to take off his shirt. "You're worried about finding your swords even though you have demon cuts all over your back?"

Jace smiled sheepishly as he sheathed his seraph blade. He pulled off his shirt and pecked Clary on the cheek. "Try not to faint at the sight of my extraordinarily gorgeous figure."

"I'll manage," Clary huffed illuminating his iratze rune. She looked up to find him smirking at her. "Don't be cocky - "

"But I _am _cocky - "

"That was quite a suspenseful battle." a voice called from behind them.

Clary and Jace spun around sharply and were surprised to see Meliorn leaning against a tree.

"What does that mean?" Clary asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "You saw the battle and didn't join in and help?"

"Hellhound demons are controlled and summoned by other demons, or people with demon blood." Jace said without breaking eye contact with Meliorn.

"Blondie is catching on," Meliorn smiled charmingly as he moved to stand across from them.

"He summoned the packs of hellhound demons and unleashed them in Central Park." Jace said striding towards him angrily. "By the order of the Clave you are under - "

Meliorn raised a hand and cut Jace off. "I summoned them to New York to attract the attention of the Institute."

"Well a simple fire message would have sufficed," Clary scoffed moving to stand beside Jace.

"This had a more dramatic effect, no? I have valuable information and insight that would outweigh my morally questionable method of initiating contact." Meliorn confidently assured them.  
"You better have cured the world of demon pox or ended world hunger - " Jace said mockingly.

"I have information on the kidnap and murder of Shadowhunters." Meliorn interrupted silencing Jace instantly. Jace turned to quickly glance at Clary, who shot him a questioning look.

"I knew that would shut you up." Meliorn grinned happily at the two very bewildered Shadowhunters.

Author's Note

Thanks for returning for the second chapter! I know I didn't spend much time writing about mundane Clary falling back in love with Jace, but I honestly just prefer for them to leap back into their regular relationship. Hope I didn't butcher it :)

Lemme know your thoughts!


	3. Chapter Three: Morning Stars

"I don't trust him," Alec said crossing his arms and eyeing Meliorn through the one way glass of the interrogation room.

"Not for the right reasons." Magnus said under his breath as he twirled around in the desk chair. Alec's jaw clenched with annoyance as he watched Isabelle snicker at Magnus' comment.

"He has information. It won't hurt to hear him out." Jace reasoned leaning against the doorframe. "Besides he did venture all the way into Edom with us to save Isabelle and Magnus."

"Fine. We'll hear the slippery information he feeds us and then charge him for summoning demons into Central Park." Alec said decidedly, moving to the door of the interrogation room.

"The attack was in Central Park." Isabelle interrupted. "I believe that is my jurisdiction and I have the authority to press or not press charges."

Alec looked dumbfounded as he stared incredulously at his sister. "Isabelle. _He summoned demons into Central Park _for the mere purpose of attracting our attention with theatrics. I'm sure I can overrule your authority and charge him justly."

"But you won't." Isabelle said confidently, as she moved past him and entered the interrogation room. "Alright Meliorn, your information better be worth more than Clave charges."

Meliorn smiled charmingly at Isabelle, Jace and Clary as they sat down opposite him.

"Information on the kidnap and murder of your people sounds priceless given that the Institute has no leads." Meliorn quipped, casually crossing his legs.

"Should we bother asking how you know that?" Clary asked watching a wide grin spread across his face.

"I come to you in good faith. I come as a Seelie who cannot lie. I come as an ally who has helped you greatly in the past, at the risk of my own life. I come to you as a traitor of the Fairfolk." Meliorn said bowing his head solemnly.

"A traitor?" Isabelle asked suspiciously leaning forward in her seat.

"By coming here and telling you this information, I am committing treason against my Queen and my people. Therefore, you should look kindly upon me and you must swear to protect me from her vengeful wrath, should she discover." Meliorn said in a steely calm voice.

"You haven't told us this 'priceless information' yet." Jace said eyeing the eloquent Seelie.

"Isabelle, as the head of the New York Institute, you must first swear to give me full protection from the Seelie Queen and her people as well as pardon from the Clave." Meliorn said staring directly at Isabelle, who stared back without blinking.  
"I swear to give you protection from Seelie persecutors on the condition that your information is invaluable, honest and genuine. The Clave will not charge you but we will have Shadowhunters watching you very closely and an ankle tracker must be worn at all times." Isabelle said calmly, watching Meliorn seethe with resentment before finally agreeing.

"Many of the Seelie guards have been sent on missions to kidnap Shadowhunters. I have never been sent because the Queen does not trust me or my loyalties after I travelled to Edom with the Shadowhunters. None of the guards are informed why they are to kidnap the children of Raziel. Once they are kidnapped, they're supposed to be taken to another dimension for questioning." Meliorn said studying the three Shadowhunters with his inquisitive stare.

"That's nothing we couldn't have concluded." Jace scoffed, leaning back in his chair with skepticism.

"I believe you did not know for certain that the culprits were Seelies, which I have just confirmed. You did not know that there was another dimension involved, which I just revealed. You did not know that you were looking in the wrong place." Meliorn countered defensively.

"That's still shorter than the list of the things we don't know. We don't know motive, the dimension, the Seelies who performed the kidnaps or how the Shadowhunters were tortured and murdered." Jace said, watching Meliorn's face form a fierce scowl.

"I don't know who committed each kidnap, but the ones involved are most likely members of the queen's Elite guard. If you question these members of the Elite guard, you will discover the dimension, motive and cause of death." Meliorn said crossing his arms indignantly. "I believe I have given you useful information, wouldn't you agree Isabelle?"  
"Give him a guest room and place the ankle tracker on." Isabelle said standing up and leading the way out.

"Do we have enough grounds to summon the Elite guard for questioning?" Magnus asked once they had all reconvened on the other side of the one way glass. "I've seen this tension and atmosphere before. The last time was just before the Uprising."

"We don't have grounds," Alec said clasping his hands behind his back and watching the Shadowhunters place the tracker around Meliorn. "Unless we expose our traitor here, and potentially start a war with the Seelies. We need more solid grounds to bring them in for questioning."

Magnus was watching Clary and Jace, talking quietly at the side of the room. Or was it Jocelyn and Valentine? He studied Isabelle and Alec, discussing strategy at the desk. Or was it Maryse and Robert? History had a funny way of repeating itself in more ways than people, but blood and war.

* * *

"As Inquisitor I think you need to file a request to the Clave, for better food at the Institutes." Jace grumbled under his breath as he and Alec shuffled down the cafeteria line. "How are we expected to fight demons and protect the entire human race without quality, nutritious food?"

"You didn't feel the same way yesterday night when you snuck into the kitchens and devoured a dozen brownies." Clary said, idly scooping some sloppy soup into a bowl. Jace shot her an irritated look as Alec appeared smug at this revelation.

"You know brownies have a lot of trans fat and sugar, that definitely don't contribute to fit and well performing Shadowhunters." Alec said seriously as they made their way to an empty table at the back.

"I could eat all the junk food in the world, and still be the greatest Shadowhunter of our generation." Jace shrugged nonchalantly as he sat down across from Alec.

"Maybe we should put some modesty into the food." Alec snarked before greeting Magnus with a peck on the cheek.

"And some understanding." Isabelle quipped as she roughly shook her salad container.

Jace's face contorted with offence. "Excuse me Head of the Institute, but I am a very understanding and empathetic gentlemen."

"I just mean, that you could try and show some civility to Meliorn." Isabelle said seriously as she shoved a forkful of salad into her mouth. "He did save my life and Magnus' life."

"Meliorn may have come to Edom for his old lover, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee his loyalty to the Clave." Jace said leaning back in his chair.

"That is exactly the kind of attitude that starts wars." Magnus chided as he mildly stirred his soggy soup.

"I'm not even trying to be prejudiced. I'm just pointing out a very real possibility." Jace said resting his arm on the back of Clary's chair.

"We'll get him to prove it." Isabelle said still shoveling down food.

"What do you want him to do? Jump through fire?" Jace said idly twirling a strand of Clary's hair.

"We could ask him to be a double agent." Isabelle said sipping from her straw. Alec stared dubiously at her with a sort of awe. "What? It's a good idea. It proves his loyalty to us and we'll get some more information."

"Ah, but we have to be careful with these kinds of requests. Not only does it put Meliorn's life on the line but it may increase the growing tension with the Seelies, should they discover we infiltrated their court with their own folk." Magnus said standing, and pulling Alec up with him. "We need to check the guard rotations for tomorrow."

"Sure have fun." Jace said kicking Alec's behind as they strode out of the cafeteria.

* * *

"I can't believe we're just sitting here while our people are being hunted." Clary said hugging a pillow as she watched Jace's fingers dance across the piano keys.

"Isabelle is talking to Meliorn about being a double agent. We'll have more to go on if he says yes." Jace said assuringly as he flipped through sheets of music.

Clary felt her heart warm as she watched him play Debussey's melodic notes. There was something completely pure and calm about Jace when he played. The creases on his forehead disappeared, his face appeared more youthful and lively. And the music that seemed to flow from his deft finger tips, was utterly transformative and gentle, yet powerful and strong.

He finished Debussey's Clair de Lune, and looked up to greet her with his burning golden eyes. He grinned and cocked his head to the side, as he switched his sheets.

"You can drool you know," he said, licking his finger tip to turn the page. "There's absolutely no shame in showing your desires."

Clary bit her lip to refrain from smiling and hurled the pillow straight towards his face. She laughed wildly as her pillow hit its mark.

Jace's face was momentarily shocked before a mischievous glint appeared in his eye, and he leaped up from the piano bench and charged towards her. She yelped in surprise and nearly toppled off the bed.

His face was determinedly playful as jumped on top of the bed and reached his arm out to try and grab her. She evaded his hand and dashed across the room to shield herself with the piano. She reeled with laughter as Jace tripped in the mess of blankets in his haste to reach her.

"You can't escape my devastatingly handsome looks forever you know," Jace said as they circled around the piano.

"Doesn't hurt to try," Clary smiled as she jumped across the fallen piano bench and bounded towards the bed. With Jace hot on her trail, she yanked the blankets over him and scampered across the bed. She chuckled as she watched his disoriented form disentangle himself from the sheets. His hair was messy from the sheets and he was mildly out of breath but he only smirked, and shook his head at her.

"You're adorable when you try and resist me." Jace said placing his hands loosely on his hips and grinning at her. "The effort is duly noted."

"I think Alec is right about sneaking some modesty into your meals." Clary said raising her eyebrow before turning and sprinting for the door. She laughed as she turned the knob, opening the door an inch before it was slammed shut again.

Her body tensed as she felt Jace's arms on either side of her head. Tugging on the knob was useless with both his hands trapping her inside. She could feel his victorious smile through the back of her head, and dreaded turning around to acknowledge it. Slowly, she turned around and craned her head to see Jace's gleeful eyes peering down at her.

"I'll try not to rub it in too much." he assured arrogantly as he pressed himself closer.

"Your attempt at modesty is duly noted." Clary smirked as she reached up to press her lips to his. Her eyes fluttered shut as she wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to hoist her up against the door. She ran her fingers through his messy hair and pulled roughly on his shirt to bring him closer. His lips were hot and soft against hers as he brushed his nose against hers. She felt her back meet the soft bed as he hovered over her, his hands roaming all over her body.

She pulled away and gripped his arms tightly.

"Hold me," she said prodding him in the stomach. He groaned loudly and flopped down beside her, pulling her small body against his. She grinned as he nestled his face into her neck. Clary rested her hands over his and leaned into him.

"Jace, tell me honestly." she said quietly as a gentle wind fluttered into the room.

"Anything." he said kissing the nape of her neck.

"Do you think there will be a war? With the Seelies?"

Jace inhaled sharply and tugged her closer, his arms tightening around her. "It happened just like this before. Tension between downworlders and the Clave. Alliances and political trust have little meaning. Murders become an expectation."

"You didn't answer my question." Clary said tracing runes with her finger on his forearms.

"The murders will become masacres, the spies will become traitors, the political alliances will fall and the new accords will become nothing more than papers and empty promises. So I guess, yeah I do think there will be a war." Jace said rubbing her bare shoulder gently.

"Do you think we'll win?" Clary asked, unsure which answer she was dreading more.

"There's never a winner,"

* * *

"He better have solid, useful information." Jace said doubtfully as he, Clary, Isabelle and Alec waited for Meliorn in the team meeting room. "Shouldn't we be meeting him in the interrogation room?"  
"He's an ally now, not a criminal." Isabelle said eyeing him wearily. "Please be nice. Don't piss off our only inside source or I'll make Clary sleep in my room."

Jace scoffed and leaned against the whiteboard lazily.

"Real mature," Clary said sharing a grin with Isabelle.

"So we sent him back to the Seelie court so he could pretend to be a soldier of the queen, in order to collect more information on the Elite guard, who supposedly kidnaps, tortures and murders Shadowhunters in another dimension." Jace said thoughtfully. "That's quite far fetched don't you think?"

"I wouldn't put it past the Seelie queen." Clary shrugged as she sipped her coffee.

"Wow, I've never been waited on by so many people before," a voice clipped from the doorway. "I feel incredibly honoured."

"Skip the theatrics, have a seat." Alec said nodding to the seat opposite him. "Did you discover any useful information with regards to the Elite guard?"

"Well I can confirm that Ferranti Boode is a member of the Elite guard." Meliorn said crossing his legs in his chair. "Can I get a glass of tea too? That smells refreshing." he asked Clary.

She shot him a dirty incredulous look before she said, "I can not believe you just asked me that."

Before Meliorn could respond, Alec cut him off.

"Is that all?"

"I believe Ferranti was connected to one of the murdered Shadowhunters. Now you have more grounds to question him." Meliorn said finally breaking his steely eye contact with Clary.

"On the grounds that our inside source revealed to us? That would certainly have you killed or arrested." Alec said clasping his hands together. "We need more evidence or useful eyewitnesses to bring him in for questioning for a second time."

"One whole day at the Seelie Court and that's the only information you could get?" Jace asked trying to filter out his accusatory tones after receiving multiple threatening glares from Isabelle and Clary.

"Well I can tell you that the Seelie queen requested to be bathed three times in fresh lily water and jojoba oils. And two of the guards hooked up in the throne room while she was bathing." Meliorn said, a pleasant smile spreading across his face.

"Wonderful!" Jace exclaimed cheerfully. "Now we can catch the murderer."

* * *

"I'm gonna tell you something crazy." Clary said as they stood at the railing of the Brooklyn bridge.

"Should I start calling for backup?" Jace asked as he turned to grin at her.

"Maybe." Clary smiled lightly. "I want to have a funeral for Jonathan."

Jace's face seized up as he suddenly swallowed his steaming hot tea and turned to stare at her. He blinked blankly at her before turning around fully so that he was leaning against the railing. "But why?"

Clary licked her lips and traced the rim of her cup as she stared out at the evening bustling city. "He was my brother. And if I was the evil demon blooded sibling, I'd want him to properly put me to rest too."

"He doesn't deserve to have you as a sister," Jace said, looking at her with a sort of admiration and pride.

"That's it?" Clary asked finally turning to meet his eyes. "No argument? Debate? Yelling, cursing or calling for backup?"

He turned to face the water again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "At one point we thought I had demon blood too. If I died and we hadn't discovered Jonathan, I would want you to still love me."

"I can't imagine the day I won't." Clary said resting her head on his shoulder. "There's no point in looking for his body. Let's just get an empty casket and put some of his baby things inside."

"Whatever you want love,"

* * *

"YOU WANT TO BURY A DEMON?" Simon exploded at their table in the cafeteria, drawing several annoyed eyes to them.

"Simon _sit down_," Clary hissed. "I would really rather not tell the entire Institute."

Simon sat down hastily and took a large bite of his sandwich shaking his head slowly with disbelief. The others' reactions were somehow worse than she anticipated. Isabelle was staring at Clary as someone would regard a mentally ill and helpless patient, as she popped cereal into her mouth. Alec was leaning back in his chair, his leg twitching as his finger tapped rhythmically against his wooden seat. His expression screamed of disapproval. Magnus showed little emotion as he almost imperceptibly used magic to change his soggy eggs benedict to fresh scrambled eggs.

"Look, I'm not asking for you to attend, I'm not asking you for permission and I'm certainly not asking you to forgive him. I just thought I owed it to you...to keep you informed." Clary said lamely as she tried garnering some response from their judgemental faces.

"I'm sorry Clary but I can't...I can't pretend to care enough to put him to rest. He may be your brother but to me, he was nothing more than the demon we saw." Isabelle said not unkindly to Clary, before standing and heading towards the exit. Simon shot Clary an apologetic glance and darted after Isabelle.

"Sorry but I have an important business meeting with the Chancellor of Brookavia." Alec said gruffly before following after his sister.

"I didn't even tell you when it would be - " Clary said suppressing a weak smile.

"Biscuit, I'd be more than happy to provide you with a casket and some lovely venues, but funerals aren't for me." Magnus said resting his hand on her shoulder before following the others.

"There's no Chancellor of Brookavia is there?" Clary sighed cupping her mug with both hands, as she felt Jace's hand rub soothing circles on her back.

* * *

"We've been staking out Ferranti for three days. My Bubbie has a more interesting life than this fellow. There's no way he's the killer." Simon said confidently as he hopped out of his van before turning and helping Isabelle out.

"No suspicious activity? At all?" Clary asked zipping up her leather jacket.

"The most thrilling part of his day was having a pigeon crap all over his shoes." Simon said before yawning and stretching. "I hardly doubt his evening will be much more eventful than that."

"Get some rest you look like ass." Jace said pushing past him and hopping into the driver's seat of the van. Clary shrugged at Simon, hugged Isabelle briefly before joining Jace in the dinky little van. She slammed the door shut and locked the door carefully. She climbed into the passenger's seat and curled her legs underneath her.  
"Why do we have to use Simon's crappy mundane van to stake out a potential killer? There's got to be a more subtle vehicle than this." Jace grumbled as he fumbled with the adjustments of the driver's seat.

"It's unique appearance will help us blend in with the others in New York," Clary said watching with amusement as Jace's seat suddenly shot forward and he slammed his gut into the steering wheel. "Shouldn't I be sitting there? You don't even know how to drive a mundane car. What if we need to follow Ferranti?"  
"I can drive a mundane machine, thank you." Jace huffed as he slid the chair back. "What damn car seat only moves forward?"

"Move it Jace - " Clary said suddenly her eyes following two figures who had slunk outside from the Howling Hell Pub.

"What do you think I'm trying to do Clary?" Jace snapped as he jerked the handle of the car seat with impatience. "What kind of fucking car seat only moves forward?"

"No!" Clary exclaimed, delivering a sharp punch to his shoulder. "Ferranti just left the pub with someone. Start driving!"

"A van following people on foot is too obvious. We'll have to move on foot - " Jace said already slinking out of the car. Clary silently leaped out of the car and the pair began trailing Ferranti.

Their frames were well hidden in the shadows as they closed some of the distance between them and the suspect.

"Did you see who he was with?" Jace whispered as he drew his seraph blade.

"A woman," Clary replied watching Ferranti guide the woman into an alley. "Is this the part where we make our presence known?"

They silently crept down the alley, their eyes and ears peeled for signs of Ferranti and the woman. Clary grabbed Jace's arm and nodded to the fallen seraph blade laying in front of them. It wasn't Jace's.

As they inched down the alley, there was a small rustle to their left. Then their right, then above them.

"Don't move," Jace said clearly to the shadowy figure standing in the middle of the alley. "Raise your hands and identify yourself."

The man, presumably Ferranti, slowly raised his hands and stood still as they moved forward.

"It's not wise to be out at this hour. Haven't you heard? Shadowhunters are being hunted." the voice drawled teasingly.

Before Clary could move, Jace had already pounced on the shadowy figure, bringing its large frame to his knees. Clary spotted the woman darting in the shadows behind Jace. She bounded after her but the woman was no longer there. Clary illuminated her witch light and held it aloft. There was no use fighting in the darkness now.

They had reached the end of the musty alley. There was nothing unique about this New York City alley. The alley was at the back of a run down Indian restaurant and there were reeking garbage cans rested along the walls. The woman had simply disappeared into the shadows.

Clary turned in defeat to see Ferranti bound and bloody on the floor. She glanced up to see Jace smirking arrogantly over the Seelie as he twirled his seraph blade in his hand.

"The woman is gone." Clary said speaking more to Ferranti than to Jace. "Where is she?"

"I couldn't have done anything to her, my hands were in your line of vision and I was speaking to you the entire time wasn't I?" Ferranti heaved, spitting blood onto the pavement.

Clary eyed the man with disdain as she pulled out her phone to contact the Institute. Within the hour, they were seated in the interrogation room.

"Who was the woman you brought into the alley?" Isabelle asked meeting Ferranti's steely eyed stare with her own.

"Jemma Kingshaven. Met her at the pub." Ferranti said cooly as he rotated his handcuffed wrists.

"A Shadowhunter." Isabelle said pursing her lips with suspicion. "Are you a member of the queen's Elite guard?"

"There are no members. There are only the chosen ones. I do not understand why I am handcuffed. There is no indication Miss. Kingshaven was harmed in any way. I could not have done anything, I was being threatened by the blonde asshole - "  
"I can deck you right now - " Jace scoffed rocking back on his chair.

"Why were you and Jemma going into the alley? Was someone waiting for you?" Clary asked watching Ferranti's beady eyes swivel to focus on her.

"I presume Miss. Kingshaven wanted to engage in sexual relations with me. However we were very rudely interrupted when you two came galloping in." Ferranti sneered.

"What can you tell us about the murdered and tortured Shadowhunters?" Isabelle said watching as Ferranti's face formed a deep scowl.

"I believe you're forming conclusions without viable evidence." Ferranti said smoothly. "The whereabouts of Miss. Kingshaven are your business not mine anymore. Perhaps you fools frightened her. Perhaps she was embarrassed to be seen with a Seelie."

Before Isabelle could press the matter, Alec opened the door and moved to uncuff Ferranti.

"An envoy of the queen has ordered us to free Ferranti." he said pushing Ferranti towards the door. He turned to grin back at the others before striding out of the interrogation room.

"Alec you just released our primary lead because the Seelie queen's envoy _ordered _you to?" Jace said with exasperation.

"We have no grounds. Whatever their plans are, they're incredibly careful. Ferranti could not have kidnapped Jemma, if she even was kidnapped. Clary saw her moving while Jace was talking to Ferranti. Ferranti couldn't have done anything." Alec said tiredly rubbing his face. "We have absolutely nothing."

* * *

"I think he would rather kiss my feet than be laid to rest here," Jace whispered from the corner of his mouth as he and Clary made their way through the sea of tombstones.

"Well no Shadowhunter graveyard would take him. I hardly doubt even the Cemetery of the disgraced would accept his burial." Clary shrugged feeling slightly uncomfortable within the eerie mundane graveyard. She took comfort from the warmth of Jace's hand on the small of her back. She was donned in a simple white v neck dress, tight at the waist and a short skirt. Jace was clad in a white dress shirt and white dress pants.

Finally they reached an empty lot at the back of the graveyard, just in front of a large topiary of roses. The mundane graveyard workers had already prepared the empty casket and had left it waiting for them to place the mementos in privacy. She stood still facing the empty casket and was extremely annoyed to discover tears prickle at the corner of her eyes. What kind of decent human being cried over the death of a demon mass murderer?

Clary crouched down and slowly placed each of Jonathan's baby possessions into the empty casket. She plucked a single rose from the topiary opposite the burial site and placed it in the center. She stood and felt Jace's arms encircle her waist, which only succeeded in making her cry harder.

"Just before he died, his eyes became green. Greener than mine," Clary sniffled staring wistfully at the place where her brother's body should've laid. "That is the brother I mourn for. The brother that I could've had. The brother I never got to know or love. The real Jonathan Morgenstern."

She turned to look up at Jace who was watching her with sorrowful eyes. "Say something," she prodded turning back to her brother's final resting place. "Please,"

Jace remained silent for a few minutes before she heard him speak. "I regret that you and Clary never got a chance to be normal brother and sister. I regret that you were never able to feel true love and family in your short lifetime. I'm sorry that Valentine ruined your family. And that he destroyed the best parts of you. You were given a life you never asked for, and for that I hope you find peace."

Clary squeezed Jace's hand and took one last look at the empty casket. "Ave atque vale. Hail and farewell brother."

The pair turned around and began walking towards the living, when they realized they could no longer move. There were green ivy vines interlaced around their ankles and feet, chaining them to the ground.

"This feel oddly familiar," Jace murmured his eyes scanning the dead empty graveyard. Clary had little hope as she tried cutting away at the vines with her dagger, but found they were immune to the sharp blade. She straightened and spotted a regal figure drifting towards them from the foggy corner of the graveyard.

"Must you always invite yourself to these morbid events?" Clary said eyeing the Seelie queen with annoyance. The queen stopped at a safe distance right before them and regarded them without humor.

"I've come to see if there is a body." she said simply, her hawk eyes scrutinizing their mourning clothes.

"We've told you before that Jonathan is dead." Clary said with exasperation. "How did you know that we were burying him?"  
Without another glance at either of them, the queen marched past them and peered into the casket. Her shoulders tensed and her long nails clenched against the flesh of her palm. In an instant she stood right in front of Clary, her nails digging into her throat as she shook her roughly.

"Where is Jonathan Morgenstern?" she screeched, her nails piercing through Clary's skin.  
"Just because you're seelie royalty, doesn't mean I won't beat the shit out of you." Jace said his hand tightening around the queen's forearm. Without even flinching, the queen flicked her wrist and Jace was bound from the shoulders to the ground in vines.

Heaving for air, Clary's vision blurred as she hunched over and coughed painfully. She stood to meet the queen's glare. The Seelie queen appeared as elegant and proper as she always did, however there was an air of desperation and madness surrounding her.

"I don't understand why you are struggling to understand." Clary spoke slowly to the queen. "Jonathan Morgenstern is _dead_. And this is his funeral. You're welcome to pay your respects after you free us from these vines."

The queen's face was stony and reddening as her shockingly bright eyes bore into Clary's. The queen let out an ear bleeding wail as she turned on her heel and stalked down the path leading towards the exit. The queen flicked her wrist, freeing Clary and Jace. She then flung her wrists out and opened up cracks along the ground, ripping trees from its roots and upheaving weeds from the earth.

Her fit of rage was both beautiful and terrifying as she left a trail of earthy destruction behind.

* * *

"Another round of shots Maia," Isabelle said resting her head on Simon's shoulder.

"I always knew there was something off with her. No one wears the face of a child to commit murder that's just wrong." Simon said tipping some blood into his drink.

"You should have seen her face," Clary said, shaking her head. "This was more than a Seelie queen crazy fit, I think she loved my brother."

The three of them sat at the benches of the bar while Jace, Alec and Magnus played pool at a table near them. Clary felt completely drained after the eventful day and couldn't bear to be in her own mind any longer. She downed two shots in a row and rested the side of her head on her palm.

"That just proves my theory. The bitch is completely, utterly and undeniably psycho if she was in love with Jonathan," Simon nodded seriously as he too downed a shot. "No offense,"

"It's like she's in denial or something," Isabelle said tapping her fingers on the counter table. "She refuses to accept that Jonathan is dead. Everyone else is celebrating and she's sobbing."

"It's kind of sad," Clary said staring at the patterns of the counter top. "A tragic woeful tale of two villainous characters who discovered their best wickedist selves in each other."

"That's dark Fray," Simon said sliding another shot glass towards her. "Really dark,"

She took the shot glass and downed it in a single gulp, relishing in the pain as the burning liquid seared down her throat.

"Take it easy there," Maia grinned from across the counter. "You're a known lightweight."  
"I am not!" Clary exclaimed with mortification. She swiveled to stare accusingly at Isabelle and Simon. "I'm not!"

" 'Jace your girlfriend is prettier than I am.' " Simon roared with laughter as he threw his head back at the memory. Clary burned bright red and turned back to face Maia.

"It's alright, I'm known for being a lightweight too." a tall dark haired man said beside Maia. He was another bartender, with sharp cheekbones and a nicely cut jawline. "I'm Brett. Maia's co worker and boyfriend."

Clary raised her eyebrows at Maia with approval and silent congratulations at the _very _nice catch. "Nice to meet you, I'm Clary. You're a Shadowhunter?" she asked spotting the runes covering his pale skin.

"Just transferred to the New York institute from Italy." he grinned, revealing a deep dimple on his left cheek. He moved to take another customer's order, leaving Clary and Isabelle to make impressed faces at Maia.  
"_Hot damn," _Isabelle said slapping the table with her hand. "He screams Italian orgasm God." Simon coughed on his drink, shooting Clary and Isabelle disgusted looks before scampering off to join the boys at the pool table.

"What happened to Bat?" Clary asked downing another shot.

"Didn't work out. It was mutual, we're still friends. Brett on the other hand…" Maia smirked.

"One day, when someone is not trying to kill us, we have to have a girl's night. I bet he has the libido of a beast." Isabelle sighed dreamily as she twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger.

"Jace has quite the stamina," Clary chirped as she slid the empty glasses towards Maia. "One more round."

Maia and Isabelle burst into hysterical laughter as they whistled towards the pool table and banged their fists on the counter.

"Clary Fairchild, you are exponentially fun and bold when you're tipsy." Maia laughed pouring out more tequila. "I feel only slightly guilty about pouring you more."

"Simon - " Isabelle gasped in between fits of her laughter. "Tripped in the shower when he was trying to - " she was laughing so hard, her sentences were jumbled and broken, yet Maia and Clary found her story ridiculously hilarious.

Clary's stomach hurt so bad from laughter that she was half laying on the counter to support her weight. "Jace and I almost got caught by Isabelle's mother in the kitchen at 3am in the morning-"

They were making so much noise, Clary could feel the people in the bar applaud their conversation. Or was that the tequila applauding?

"I think it's time we head home," Jace said draping an arm across Clary's slacken shoulders. "Can you handle her?" he asked Simon, nodding to Isabelle who was dipping her hair into the shot glasses and then licking it.

"Don't trip when you wash her." Maia squealed with laughter before throwing the dirty dish towel at an astounded Brett and heading to the back.

Simon looked completely mortified as he stared at Isabelle. He sighed and sat down next to Isabelle, pulling the shot glasses away from her hair. Clary felt Jace's hands slide around her waist as he draped her other arm over his shoulders. She was still laughing hysterically, but she couldn't quite remember why as the pair made their way out of the Hunter's Moon.

"Please try and puke in the toilet tomorrow instead of beside it," Jace said as he tucked her into bed. "There isn't a cleaning rune you know?"

Clary giggled as she pulled Jace so that he was laying beside her. "Thank you for coming to the dead person place with me. No one else would do that for me."

"We'll talk more tomorrow okay?" Jace smiled with amusement as he slid off the bed to change.

"Jace?"

"Yes Clary?"

"Don't worry, I told them you had more libido than the hot Italian," Clary murmured before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"So this is Jemma Kingshaven?" Jace asked leaning forward on his hands to watch the autopsy. "If Ferranti was the last person to see her alive, that should be enough to question him as a member of the queen's Elite guard right?"

"We could." Isabelle agreed as she removed a large chunk of the victim's colon. "But questioning a member of the Seelie queen's Elite guard is a ballsy move."

"Good thing you have more balls than Alec did when he was head of the Institute." Jace said wrinkling his nose at the putrid odor.

Clary and Brett walked into the laboratory carrying what appeared to be other lost body parts belonging to Jemma Kingshaven.

"We've got the right arm and the left foot," Brett called placing the dismembered arm onto the observation table. "This form of torture looks significantly more brutal than the other victims. Whoever tortured this Shadowhunter was angry. Look at the angle that the arm was torn off. It's jagged and shredded. This was not cut off but rather ripped off."

"I think we can prove that Seelies are the murderers," Clary said raising a glass vial for the others to see. "This is fresh blood. Our victim has been dead for at least 3 days so this has to belong to someone who was in contact with her within the last 24 hours. If this matches the blood of a Seelie than we can use that to bring Ferranti in."

"I have an idea," Brett said slowly as he used a probe to examine the amputated limbs. "But it's rather bold and may emanate prejudice."

"We don't have a lot of options, bold may be the only way to bring in Ferranti." Isabelle said stopping her work to look at Brett.

"Well I understand we have a double agent working for us. Since all Seelie blood is the same, if we can draw his blood and contrast it with the one found on the murder victim, we can confirm that Seelies were in contact with the victim within the last 24 hours." Brett said uncomfortably. "But of course, we'd have to ask our spy for permission. I'm not sure how he would feel giving blood."

"It sounds like the perfect demonstration of loyalty to me," Jace said crossing his arms and eyeing Brett carefully. "Say, you're not Italian are you?"

"I'm going to go talk to Meliorn," Clary said quickly stripping off her gloves and bounding out of the laboratory.

"I am. Just transferred from the Institute in Italy." Brett replied still studying the victim's arm.

"Huh…" Jace mumbled glaring at a very distracted Izzy. "I'm going to go check on Clary and Meliorn."

Of course he had more libido than Brett, he thought defensively as he passed the empty training room, library and weapons room. He made his way to the infirmary, where sure enough Clary was inserting a needle into Meliorn's pale forearm.

"I'm really sorry to have to ask you to do this," Clary said while she labelled the tube with Meliorn's name.

"I betrayed my people by coming to the Nephilim. What's one more vial of treason?" Meliorn shrugged leaning back in his seat.

"Did you know Ferranti?" Jace asked leaning against the doorframe.

Without glancing towards the door Meliorn replied, "Not as well as you knew his sister."

"I am still holding a very sharp needle in your body," Clary reminded lightly.

"I can't wait to bring him in," Jace said with a hint of dreaminess. "That asshole has been an asshole since the day I met him. He's involved in this Shadowhunter bloodbath, I bet my life."

"I'll hold you to that," Meliorn quipped pressing a cotton ball over his arm. "I never knew Ferranti. Members of the Elite guard regarded themselves as superior to the others. They didn't associate themselves with the lower ranks."  
"Thank you Meliorn," Clary said sincerely, taking both vials of blood in her small hand. "If these match we can bring him in for questioning."

* * *

"Are you a member of the Seelie queen's Elite guard?" Jace asked leaning forward in his seat to match Ferranti's aggressive stance.

"Yes," he growled. Ferranti's eyes shone with loathing and murder as he eyed Jace from across the interrogation room table. Clary suppressed an eye roll as she flipped through his records.

"What do you know about the kidnap, torture and murder of the Nephilim?" Isabelle asked from the other side of Jace.

Ferranti's jaw twitched as he bared his sharp teeth at them. "The Elite guard takes the Shadowhunters for Seelie business."

"What Seelie business?" Jace asked staring coldly at the man.

"I do not know." Ferranti said simply, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Bullshit. How can you not know? Why are they being kidnapped?" Jace demanded, his calm composure wavering.  
"I do not know," Ferranti spoke slowly, annunciating each word. "No one in the Elite guard knows."

"Then why are you performing these kidnaps? Where do you take them?" Isabelle asked choosing her sentences and words carefully.

"We do not perform kidnaps. We are simply following our orders to bring these Shadowhunters willingly or unwillingly to different portals that lead to an unknown dimension." Ferranti snarled his feral gaze roving over them.

"Who are you taking these orders from?"

"I don't know."

"Where do these portals lead to?" Clary asked studying Ferranti with interest. How could a large and intelligent man like Ferranti, follow orders so blindly and obediently?

"We do not know," Ferranti snapped clenching his fists almost imperceptibly. "Nobody knows where the portals lead to we are just instructed to deposit your kind there."

"So you don't know why you are to kidnap Shadowhunters. You don't know why they are being taken to these portals and you don't know where they are being sent." Jace repeated incredulously. "I don't suppose you know who tortures and kills them in this dimension?"

"For once my moronic blond friend, you are correct." Ferranti grinned cheekily, exposing each of his nicely filed teeth.

"It's the perfect fool proof plan," Clary said once they were on the other side of the interrogation glass. "Despite being ordered to kidnap these Shadowhunters, they were given limited information. This ensures they can't be convicted or expose their plans."

"I'm not sure we know how to play this game,"

* * *

"Magnus you are the best chef in the entire continent." Clary murmured, piling her plate with food. "Pass me another tortilla Simon,"

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Jace asked, shoveling a large scoop of paella into his mouth. Alec shot him an appalled look and poured himself more wine.

Clary moved into the seat next to Jace, completely focused on the delicious food in front of her. They were seated at Magnus and Alec's dining room table for a late dinner. Isabelle and Simon were opposite them and Magnus and Alec were at opposite ends of the table.

"Seelies were always incredibly talented and careful with their choice of words. They could manipulate any response into a vague and misleading answer. But this new tactic is truly clever. They know that we are very aware of their inability to lie. They consider this as a weakness. So, they've warped this weakness to their advantage. By giving their soldiers limited information, no matter what we ask or do to them, their true intentions remain protected." Magnus said thoughtfully as he eyed Simon who was gaily shaking blood all over his meal. "Rather ingenious."

"Of course that's what we need," Jace grumbled scooping several servings of paella into his plate. "Honest Seelies who know absolutely nothing."

"Can't we question the Seelie queen?" Clary asked licking some salsa off of her fork. "She has to be the mastermind behind all of this."  
"Biscuit, the havoc raised in Alicante and the Seelie court after you brought in a single soldier from the Elite guard was astounding. Imagine the hell that would break loose if you brought the _Seelie queen _in for questioning." Magnus said shaking his head. "_Use your coaster _Simon. You're getting blood stains all over my maple oak custom designed dining table."

"If they protect their soldiers with limited information, I guarantee the queen knows even less." Alec said grumpily as he dumped some nachos onto his plate. "Dealing with angry Seelie ambassadors is completely maddening."

"You know you Shadowhunters should take some serious safety precautions. You're being kidnapped and killed left and right," Simon said his mouth full of food. "It can't be safe."

"Thank you Simon," Alec drawled. "For your invaluable advice."

"The Clave is announcing a new Shadowhunter precaution plan tomorrow," Magnus continued stirring his soup slowly. "A curfew is being initiated world wide. Minors are banned from being outside between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am. All Shadowhunters whether fully initiated or still training, are advised to travel in pairs or larger groups. Everyone is of course encouraged to avoid secluded alleys and suspicious figures."

"Why can't you just say Seelie?" Simon asked. "The term figure is rather broad."

"That would surely guarantee a war." Alec said standing to clear the dishes. "They've asked me to give a lecture on the importance of judgement and self preservation at the Shadowhunter Academy tomorrow. Izzy will you take it for me?"

"I am busy enough at the Institute with unsolved _murders, _I'm not taking on your scut." she huffed as she snatched the dishes in Alec's hand and roughly stacked them in the dishwasher.

"Careful with my porcelain plates!" Magnus called eyeing the siblings with deep concern for the safety of his plates. "They were a gift from the Emperor of Japan in 1897 - "

"I'm awkward with small people, can't you just take it?" Alec pressed, with a hint of whining in his voice. "You love children! Plus you can show off your new whip - "

"I. Said. No." Isabelle said clearly, slamming the dishwasher shut, causing Magnus to wince and pour himself more wine.

"Every time the Lightwood siblings reunite, my household necessities become collateral damage." Magnus grumbled, flopping down onto the couch and stroking his cat.

"Dear Bubbie and Bubba…" Simon shouted, lurching back from the balcony. "What the actual fuck - "

Clary, Jace, Alec and Isabelle raced to the doors of the balcony where Simon was standing, his eyes transfixed on something outside. Magnus nearly dropped his wine glass as they stood horrified at the body hanging in front of them. It was a woman. A woman who appeared very familiar to Clary. She was hung from the terrace above the loft by a thick rope, suspending her by the neck. Her eyes were milky as they stared intensely at the group, while her neck was broken and hanging to the side.

"By the angel…" Alec whispered rubbing the stubble on his jaw. "By the angel…"

"Is that?" Jace asked hoarsely, as he gripped Clary's arm tightly.  
"The woman who had an affair with our father."

* * *

"Don't touch anything." Alec warned as he sat down on the armchair, still overwhelmed with shock. "Do you know what this looks like?"  
"We have to notify the Clave - " Jace said still staring at the dead woman.

"Idris Insider is going to have a field day with this - " Alec groaned, leaning back into his seat.

"Well we can't just hide her, that's breaking a million laws - " Clary argued feeling bile rise in her throat.

"Look at how and where she was displayed." Magnus said loudly, breaking the mindless chatter. "The woman Robert Lightwood had an affair with is dead. Her body is strung violently and disrespectfully in Alec Lightwood's home. This is set up perfectly to frame or warn us." Magnus said moving towards the woman. He flicked his wrist and a pair of bright blue gloves appeared on his hands. He carefully grazed the woman's body before stopping on her mouth. Carefully he tipped her mouth open, reached inside and pulled out a note.  
"This is something out of a Stephen King novel." Simon said with awe and disgust as he pulled Isabelle away from the body.

" 'Welcome to the dawn of a new era. The hunters become the hunted. Long live the hunt.' " Magnus read, sending chills up Clary's spine.

* * *

Welcome to the dawn of a new era.

The hunters become the hunted.

Long live the hunt.

* * *

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait! Thank you so much for your patience and support! I've planned the chapters all the way up to number 12 so far so stay tuned for more!

Let me know your thoughts!


	4. Chapter Four: The Game of Shadows

"Well respected, admired and incredibly intelligent Shadowhunter - Annamarie Highsmith - was reportedly found hung and murdered, with visible signs of torture in Alec and Magnus Lightwood-Bane's New York loft. Highsmith was a beloved member of the Shadowhunter community and the infamous woman involved in an affair with Robert Lightwood. The Inquisitor and the High Warlock of Alicante have adamantly refused to comment on this murder. This is yet another murder in one of the most deadly Shadowhunter serial killing series to ever occur in history, which the New York Institute has yet to solve." Isabelle read angrily, dropping the newspaper onto the table and leaning back in her chair. "Idris Insider is completely butchering the story."

"The Idris forensics team will confirm this afternoon that there is nothing linking us with her murder." Jace said striding into the room and handing Alec a sheaf of papers. "Except motive of course."

"If she was murdered and tortured the same way as the other victims, and you have Ferranti's statement admitting they are sent to kidnap Shadowhunters and you have Seelie blood on one of the victim's clothes, why can't you just arrest the entire Elite guard?" Simon asked handing out Java Jones' lifesaving coffee to everyone.

"That's the problem. We can confirm Seelies were in contact with Jemma Kingshaven but all Seelies have the same blood. We can't just arrest all the Seelies in the Elite guard." Alec replied, tiredly rubbing the stubble on his jaw. "And we may have proof that the Elite guard was involved in the kidnappings, but we have no proof that they were involved in the murders."

"You know mundane series killers are much less complicated." Simon quipped idly sipping his coffee.

"They're also mundane. And much less intelligent." Jace pointed out, warily prodding the action figures posing on Simon's shelf. "Who the hell are these little people?"

"They're the most legendary humans to ever exist." Simon grinned crookedly, crossing his ankle over his knee. "I'm not even going to try and explain their awesomeness to you."

"Clary dear, we need to get our own place. I'm tired of staying at Simon's strange tiny living hole, while we're hiding from the unwelcome environment at the Institute.." Jace said wrinkling his nose at the posters plastered on the wall.

"Well you're more than welcome to leave." Simon said politely, a falsely sincere expression crossing his face.

"We need to get a move on this case. Did you hear Idris Insider? 'This is yet another murder in one of the most deadly Shadowhunter serial killing series to ever occur in history, which the New York Institute has yet to solve.'." Isabelle repeated, gulping down her coffee. "I will not be known as the head of the Institute that couldn't catch some bad guys."

"Alright you heard Isabelle. We need to solve this case to save her reputation." Alec mocked, earning the most deadly glower from his sister.

"We have more pressing business," Magnus interrupted as he strode into the room and plucked a coffee from Simon's hand.

"What could possibly be more pressing than a psycho invincible Shadowhunter hater slash murderer?" Simon asked incredulously, eyeing his half drunk coffee in Magnus' hand.

"Lorenzo just phoned me and told me that a younger warlock has accidentally released a hoard of demons into New York." Magnus said cheerfully.

"This takes precedence over the case right now," Alec said already on his feet. "What foolish warlock 'accidentally' summons a hoard of demons?"

"I'm gonna send a fruit basket to the dimwitted warlock." Jace smiled happily as they made their way out of Simon's apartment. "I haven't killed a demon since last Saturday."

* * *

"We need all hands on deck. The sooner we can kill these demons, the sooner we can return to this case. And of course for the safety of the mundanes too." Isabelle said, hurriedly strapping on a holter set of seraph blades around her waist.

"I bet I can get a DC higher than 50." Jace whispered under his breath to Alec as he laced his hunting boots tightly. "Can you top that?"

"Anyday. 70." Alec said confidently, his stele moving habitually over his body.

"80." Clary grinned, tossing Isabelle her whip.

"Wait like Batman DC universe?" Simon asked before continuing to gulp down his packet of blood.

"Demon count. Jace and Alec are obsessed with out doing the other whenever we go out on a mission." Isabelle explained, wiping off a drop of blood from the corner of Simon's mouth.

"Well I bet I can do 100." Simon said raising his eyebrows challengingly.

"This could be fun," Magnus remarked from the corner as he danced his fingers lightly against his leg. "Why don't we make this a competition? In partners, we'll see who can kill the most demons in one day. Losers buy drinks at Hunter's Moon, say...at midnight. We can all reconvene there. I'll use magic to keep score for everyone and make sure that no one is cheating."

"Dibs on Magnus." Alec said shooting his hand straight into the air. "What? He is my husband." he replied defensively.

Magnus smirked as he neatly shot a blast of his magic at each of them.

"I'll take a whiskey on the rocks." Jace said, grabbing Clary's hand and jogging towards the door. "I usually drink several of those in one shot. Clary usually takes tequila. Just so you guys can estimate your total bill by the end of the night and divide it amongst yourselves."

Clary laughed as Jace led them out the doors of the Institute and into the bustling city streets.

"I see some already," Clary said, nodding to the gray tentacled demons slinking around the bus stand across the street. "Raum demons."

Jace and Clary dashed silently across the street and crept towards the demons. Clary lunged forward and sank her dagger into the spine of the fattest demon, releasing spurts of demon ichor all over the bus stand. It's counterparts whirled around and bared their teeth and tentacles at the pair. At the end of each tentacle was a set of razor sharp teeth. Several tentacles shot forward in an attempt to pierce her skin, but she extended her daggers and amputated its lethal extensions.

The demons began darting everywhere as they violently lashed out with their tentacles. Jace appeared to be in an aggressive dance with several of the demons as their vicious tentacles slid towards him.

Clary side stepped a taller demon and slid under its extended tentacle, reaching her dagger upwards, successfully slicing off its extensions. She quickly dodged its counter attack before digging her dagger into its chest. Clary spun around and threw her dagger at an approaching demon, feeling her body scream with adrenaline as she watched its form disintegrate.

Jace was still engaged in a vigorous battle with a large Raum demon, when Clary spotted another demon perched on top of the bus stand. She bounded to the other side of the bus stand, jumped and pulled herself on top of the stand. The mundanes sitting within the stand remained oblivious to the battle occurring above and beside them.

Just as the demon was about to pounce towards Jace, Clary drove her dagger into the demon's bony head, it's grimy form falling to ashes. Clary straightened up and walked to the edge of the bus stand. Jace turned to look up at her and smiled broadly. He flicked his seraph blade to shake off some excess demon ichor.

"You know, badass demon hunting is a major turn on." he said sheathing the blade before squinting up at her against the glare of the sun. Clary shook her head with amusement and gracefully dropped down beside him. She grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him towards her.

Clary crushed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer. She could feel his rapid heart rate against her chest, as her tongue danced alongside his.

He breathlessly pulled away from her, his smoldering golden eyes staring down at her. "We should keep moving, I want free drinks tonight."

Clary sighed and picked up her fallen dagger, before sliding it into her holster. "You started it."

"8 kills at 10 am? Let's go for 30 by noon." Jace said glancing up to the smoke of blue magic trailing them. Magnus' magic score keeping indicated they had a whooping 8 kills.

"Excessive competitiveness is _not _a turn on." Clary pointed out as they continued their brisk pace through the packed streets. Jace slid his hand into hers and pecked her temple lightly.  
"Don't be ridiculous. My ambitious desire to win is maddeningly attractive." Jace grinned, his eyes surveying the crowds. "How many do you think Magnus and Alec have?"

"9." Clary replied, watching Jace's face reel with horror.

"Move faster Fairchild."

* * *

Clary sharply kicked the demon's chest, sending it toppling back as Jace raised his seraph blade and neatly sliced through its handsome face. Clary shook the remaining ichor onto the sidewalk, before sheathing it into her belt holster.

"Can we please find a greasy restaurant to eat now?" she asked, watching wearily as Jace used his stele to activate his vision rune.

"Just 5 more demons," he said eagerly leading them through the alleyways hidden behind the busy storefronts.

"Are you seriously going to deny me food?" Clary demanded following after him grumpily. "It's already 2:30 and I haven't had anything to eat all day besides lukewarm Java Jones coffee."

"You love Java Jones." Jace protested as he peered around a set of large dumpsters for more demons.

"I also love pizza. And fries. And a chocolate milkshake." Clary huffed tying her hair into a messy knot at the top of her head. "How are we supposed to kill more demons if we're starving?"

"Winning feeds my hunger," Jace grinned as they turned into the final alleyway on the block.

"And your ego." Clary mumbled as they continued down the stinky dank alley. Amidst the garbage, rotting food and pollution, Clary could smell the delicious scent of freshly grilled steak and chicken. She sauntered up beside Jace and slunk her hands around his shoulders and waist. Clary pressed her cheek against his chest and peered up at him.

The corner of his lip twitched slightly, before he looked down at her with suspicion. "Are you about to seduce me into stopping for food?"

"Will it come to that?" Clary asked lightly, her hand inching up the underside of his shirt. Jace groaned with resignation and steered them into the back door of a restaurant. Clary smugly straightened herself and nearly skipped to the ordering station.

Clary and Jace carried their trays of food and settled into an empty booth near the back. Clary tore into her burger and onion rings and chugged half of her iced coffee before glancing up at Jace. He raised his eyebrows at her and sipped his smoothie.

"Don't look at me like that." Clary said, stealing some fries from his plate. "Aren't you and Alec always complaining that Isabelle and I take ages to finish our food?"

"Well you do."

"Well now I'm wolfing down my meal and you're giving me a judgy stare."

"It's not a judgy stare."

"It's a judgy amused stare."

Clary shook her head with disbelief and swirled her coffee around in the cup. "Would you rather win free drinks tonight or find an empty bathroom stall that fits two right now?"

Jace nearly choked on his strawberry smoothie and turned to stare at her incredulously. "Are you really asking me that?"

"I'm a curious creature." Clary replied, shoving some fries into her mouth in an attempt to suppress her grin. She could definitely work this mundane game to her advantage. Jace eyed her with uncertainty as he tried to decide whether to answer truthfully and how serious her question was. Jace ran his tongue over the insides of his teeth before leaning in close, so that their knees were intermingled and their noses were a hairbreadth from touching.

"Bathroom stall."

Clary nodded slightly and leaned back in her seat, as she struggled to maintain a straight face. Jace chewed slowly on a french fry as he considered her from across the table.

"Would you rather - "

"No dirty questions." Clary interrupted watching the mischievous gleam in his eyes come to life.

"Ye of little faith." he scoffed. "Would you rather kiss a Shax demon or admit I'm the sexiest, most irresistible man you've ever met?"

"You know I just wanted one answer to a very simple question - "

"The answer to my question is quite easy." Jace said, resting his ankle across his knee.

"Shax demon," Clary blurted, watching his confident expression crumble and become a skeptical one.

"Lying is very unethical." Jace said reaching over to her plate and stealing back some of his fries.

"Who said anything about lying?"

"The game isn't fun if you lie." Jace argued. "I think - "

"Don't move." Clary stilled, her hand reaching for the daggers in her belt. Jace began to turn his head to see what she was staring at but stopped after a well aimed kick to his shins. Clary watched a couple entered the diner hand in hand. Their physical form appeared normal but her eyes were focused on their completely ink black eyes. She slowly raised the dagger from her belt and launched it at the female demon's head, watching its glamour shatter to reveal a monstrous dahak demon who swiveled to see its attacker before falling into a pile of ashes.

It's counterpart's facade fell and its six octopus like legs began flying towards them. Clary slid out from the booth and raised her other dagger to sharply hack off two of its tentacles. Jace was already behind the demon, his agile form leaping onto the demon's back as he drove his blade into its neck. The demon reared with rage and flung Jace into a wall decked with old photographs.

The demon ripped the blade from its neck and tossed it carelessly to the side. Clary wondered how the mundanes perceived the fallen photographs as they continued chatting and eating their food, barely casting a glance towards them. Clary darted beneath several of the demon's extended tentacles and picked up her fallen dagger.

She used one dagger to sever several other tentacles and the second dagger to sink into the demon's back. The demon roared as ichor oozed from its wound sites. Clary stabbed the demon once more in the knee cap, watching its grotesque form fall to its knees before pulling the demons head back as Jace brought the seraph blade cleanly through its neck.

"You alright?" Clary asked, her eyes following his wind blown hair and rumpled clothing.

"Never better." he smirked, casting his eyes up to the blue cloud of smoke that showed 46 demon kills.

"You can thank me for suggesting lunch later."

* * *

"Would you rather kiss Simon or pay for drinks tonight?" Clary asked as they continued their stroll down the Brooklyn Bridge. They had just killed a group of moloch demons, bringing their DC to 59. Demons were running wild all over New York. Seeing anything less than 5 demons on a block was a rarity.

"Drinks on me." Jace answered, twirling his seraph blade in his hand.

"Not even an eskimo kiss?" Clary teased watching as the sun began to descend on the west.

"I thought there were no dirty questions," Jace reminded, his eyes roving over the crowds. "Besides Izzy would murder me in my sleep."

"No, she'd stop and take a picture." Clary corrected as they watched a cyclist loudly cuss at a mundane driver.

"My turn. Would you rather have Fairchild as a last name or Herondale?" Jace asked watching Clary's face break out into laughter.

"Fairchild. Herondale sounds like the name of an old street or a forgotten town." Clary grinned.

"I thought you said you loved my last name." Jace objected. "Herondale is a very fine and respectable name."

"I also love strawberries, doesn't mean I'd change my last name to Clarissa Strawberry - "

"Do you feel that?" Jace asked his stance becoming defensive as he watched the oncoming traffic and pedestrians continue their daily business.

"What?"

"That - " Jace said steadying Clary as she nearly fell into oncoming traffic. The ground beneath was rumbling as the bridge carrying thousands of mundanes began to quake. "Where's that coming from?"

"Is it mundane or demonic?" Clary asked, gripping the railing facing the bridge. Clary observed that the mundanes seemed completely unbothered by the earth shaking movement they were experiencing. Demonic.

"By the angel - " Jace sputtered his gaze following something over Clary's shoulder. She whirled around to face the waters beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, watching them rage and gurgle as something came alive from below. There was no warning when large vines came sprouting from the Earth, upheaving all the marine life and viciously spewing it onto the shores. The vines rose from the waters, twisting and contorting as they began to spell out a message.

Clary's body felt numb with shock and uncertainty as she watched the waters give a final violent swirl before falling to rest. The vines hung gnarled and gritty, the words and message clearly expressed in hard letters that hung suspended across the waterway. The vines looked familiar. Too familiar. Vitas Veritas. The very same Vitas Veritas that had nearly suffocated Jace and Simon to death in a childish game Clary was forced to play, not long ago.

Clary felt the familiar eerie and uncomfortable feeling of being mocked that she experienced back in Magnus and Alec's loft. The words sent spine tingling chills up her back, holding her captive in a shocked state.

"We need to go," Jace said in a steely voice, his tone hiding his underlying urgency. He hurriedly grabbed Clary's hand and pulled her still form into a sprint down the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. Her limbs warmed and came whirring back to life at the feel of Jace's hot and calloused palm. How did they find them? What the hell did that message mean? Where did they go from here? They reached the end of the path and darted into some secluded alleyways off of a busy side street. Jace was striding down the alley, in no particular direction except away from the vines. Clary had to jog to keep pace with him, but he showed no signs of slowing down.

"How - "

"Take of your jacket." Jace said stopping abruptly, nearly causing Clary to slam into his shoulder.

"You take off your jacket," Clary said as she tried to regain control of her breath. She stared in bewilderment at the wild expression on his face as he stripped off his leather jacket and flung it into a stack of empty cardboard boxes that lined the brick walls of the alley. Jace ran his fingers messily through his hair and proceed to remove his pants.

"Are you going to stand there and watch me strip or are you going to join me?" Jace demanded as he tugged down his boxers.

"What the hell are you doing - " Clary exclaimed, her eyes nervously darting around them. Clary was doing her best to ignore this ludicrous and manic version of Jace as he tossed the boxers a few feet behind them. He pulled his pants back on and turned to regard her still fully clad form. He sighed with impatience and grasped her shoulders tightly.

"Somehow they knew where we were. They knew exactly _where _we were standing and sent us a message that only we and the Daylighter can understand. They _knew _where we were. We're being tracked or followed or stalked somehow, someway and we need to do everything we can to evade them." Jace said his eyes boring into hers. "Now take off your damn jacket."

* * *

After discarding several of their garments, running through a fountain to mask their scents, shutting their phones off and activating their anti-tracking runes - they continued down the empty alleyway and merged with the rush hour crowds. Clary had never seen Jace so unnerved and cautious as he was after their little blip on the bridge. His paranoia did become mildly annoying when he suggested that they run through the fountain in case a scent tracking demon or rogue werewolf was trailing them.

Jace kept a firm hand on the small of her back as he guided them through the packed streets. They encountered many more groups of Hellhound demons, Behemoth demons, Croucher and Dahak demons before winding their way in the direction of the Hunter's Moon.

"It had to be the Seelie Queen. Who else knows that? Who else would say something like that right after we question Ferranti, to taunt us? I'm calling Simon - " Clary whispered in hushed tones, unable to bear the silence that screamed of danger and tension.

"If he saw it he will tell us when we meet at Hunter's Moon. What if they're tracking us through phones? Don't turn it on again it's too risky." Jace said his voice barely audible over the rush hour traffic.

"All these little messages she's leaving for us across town is incredibly sadistic." Clary persisted, refusing to drop the conversation. "The note inside Annamarie Highsmith, the message on the bridge - she's trying to tell us something."

"Cecaelia demons on your left," Jace murmured before he had disappeared from her side and slunk into the shadows. Clary released a frustrated breath and slipped the opposite way, completing Jace's circle and closing in on the group of demons.

Jace's figure reappeared on the other side of the demons and he gracefully brought his seraph blade through the centre of a demon's chest. It's counterparts hissed and shot their slimy green tongues towards him. He back flipped over the group of demons and appeared on the other side.

Clary darted to Jace's original position while the demons were distracted by his grand flips and sharply brought both her daggers down on two of the demon's necks. The final demon shrieked and lunged forwards, an attack she easily dodged.

"What if we're missing something? What if she's teasing us and we're too blind to see it?" Clary asked sidestepping another large swing. She could see Jace's eye roll on the other side of the demon as he sliced the monster's tentacle into two.

"What if there's nothing to see and you're just making things up - " he grunted as the demon landed a blow on his shoulder. " - because you want to do something?"

Clary spun and dragged her dagger through the demon's throat bringing the large creature to the ground. "But what if there is and you're just too stubborn to see it?"

Jace swung his seraph blade in a carefully timed arc before piercing the demon's heart and watching its form disintegrate. He stood slowly and turned to face her. "You can't see something if there's nothing there."

Clary turned and strode in the opposite direction, summoning all her willpower to keep from screaming. How could he be so insufferable? The Seelie Queen never did anything without a reason and those messages had plenty of backhanded and threatening motives behind them. She knew Jace was following right behind her but she chose not to turn around for fear of gouging his eyes out. There was no man more stubborn than Jace. In this life or the next.

Clary took advantage of leading and led them straight into a restaurant. She heard Jace grumble under his breath as Clary ordered and slid into an empty seat by the window. She was halfway through her salad when Jace plopped into the seat opposite her and began shoveling pasta into his mouth.

"Can you just admit that there may be the slightest possibility that these messages have another meaning?" Clary asked watching his jaw clench with annoyance.

"I'm not saying there isn't. I'm saying maybe we should focus on the problems we have in front of us instead of digging for more - " he said before she could get another word in. "And for a very small person you have a very big appetite."

"You still owe me a proper burrata salad after last time - " Clary scoffed piercing a piece of lettuce with more force than necessary. "When has the Seelie queen ever done anything without an underhanded double meaning?"

"She sent us a message with _vines. _A message only we can understand, can't you see we're being targeted? If we decipher the deep meanings she's hidden for us we could play right into her little sharply filed talons - " Jace said, his voice becoming louder with every word.

"I need some air." Clary exhaled, standing up without another word and slipping through the doors of the restaurant and into the cool night. She had to call Simon. Only four people in the world would understand the message on the bridge. Jace, Simon, the Seelie queen and herself. She had one fairly good guess which of the four left the message, she was incredibly irritated with another and found herself turning on her phone and searching for the fourth person.

Clary wandered into the alleyway beside the restaurant and turned on her phone which began pinging with messages from Luke, Maryse, Izzy and Magnus bragging about their DC. Then all of a sudden her phone was no longer in her hand. And her feet were no longer on the floor. And her voice no longer made a sound.

Clary gasped for air as a large hand hoisted her into the air by her throat. Clary could make out several figures in the dark alleyway but couldn't make out their faces. Sleek black masks were donned by each of the figures in the alley who were barking instructions to one another. Clary aimed a sharp kick to the chest of her captor who dropped her with a cuss. Clary felt her knees meet the unwelcoming hard ground as she grappled for more air. Hands were around her mouth, hands were pinning her arms behind her back and a single gloved hand was yanking her by the hair as they drew her deeper into the depths of the alley.

Clary dug her heels into the ground and purposefully dragged her knee across the asphalt. She could feel part of her pants tear and squeezed her eyes tightly as she allowed the ground to scrape away the flesh of her bare knees to leave a trail of blood. Clary tried to wrench free from her attackers, succeeding in breaking one of her arms free. She dodged a meaty gloved hand and struck the man squarely in his lower abdomen. As he keeled over, Clary managed to find her footing and spun around to deliver a kick to the man holding her other arm. She ducked under another man's spear, butted her head sharply into his while kicking the spear away from his dangerous hands.

A burst of pain erupted in her abdomen as she glanced down to see the tip of a sharp spear protruding from her front. Clary's vision flashed as she struggled to remain conscious while her assailant yanked the spear out from behind. Her captors tightly bound her wrists, kicked the backs of her knees and lifted her chin up. She angrily spit a mouthful of blood onto the man who appeared to be the leader. He retaliated by kicking her hard in the wound site, causing her to double over in pain.

The man reached for her jaw and tilted it up so he could study her. Her eyes longed to close but she forced them open to meet her captor's eyes. Clary noted the pointy angle of the man's ears from behind his mask. Seelies.

Her mind spun with answers of what this could mean and what was about to happen. Was she about to discover the truth behind the Shadowhunter kidnapping by becoming a victim herself?

"Make a portal." the man ordered, turning her jaw from side to side as if he were examining an animal in line for slaughter. Clary could barely feel her lower body, as the blood seeped through her clothing and onto the filthy asphalt. She could taste the grimy leather of the gloved hand clasped around her mouth, feeling her stomach reel with disgust. She had to break free and escape now, before they had a chance to tow her into another dimension where all her friends would find left of her was her corpse.

Clary suddenly grasped the material in between her teeth and pulled the glove off the man's hand. She could hear shouts but her eyes were trained on the 4 triangular ring brass knuckles on the man's hand. Her vision nearly went completely black as the brass knuckles struck her hard across the face. Her body lanced with pain as she gasped for air and for mercy.

The man's bare hand clamped tightly on her mouth once more, silencing the words that had just graced the edge of her lips. Would anyone hear her if she screamed?

No. They probably wouldn't. But they would hear if someone else screamed. Clary felt her body slowly fail as her vision became spotted and blurred. Using all the strength she had left, Clary sank her teeth into the man's hand as deeply as she could, before the world went dark.

* * *

After taking a few more bites of his pasta and realizing it no longer tasted the same, Jace sighed and dropped some cash onto the table before rising to his feet and following after Clary.

"Look, fine I admit that maybe there's something else the Seelie queen is saying. But that doesn't mean we drop everything and start reading into every detail because that would just be - "

Jace stopped short. His eyes darted around the busy street and failed to spot the familiar red bob in the crowd. He wandered into the alleyway beside the restaurant, his stele activating his night vision rune. His blood ran cold as he spotted a drop of blood on the floor. He crouched down to examine it and felt something distinctly off about the alley.

Jace silently straightened himself and slid his seraph blade free from its holster. Just as he was about to try and track the blood, he heard a man scream further down the alley. Jace sprinted down the length of the alley, his eyes searching for signs of danger. He desperately hoped that he would not find Clary bleeding at the end of this alley.

Jace neared the end and saw a group of men creating a portal.

"By the order of the Clave, I order you to stop and drop your weapons." Jace called after spotting several Seelie spears in hand. He was mildly surprised to see black masked faces turn to face him. The men ignored his instruction and wordlessly darted into the portal. Jace lowered his seraph blade and felt his heart seize as he spotted a lone figure lying on the ground.

He heard his blade clatter loudly onto the floor as his feet carried him at an impossibly slow speed to where the body lay. Jace dropped down to his knees beside Clary and felt his blood boil with indescribable rage. Seeing her tiny frame encircled by a pool of blood sparked a rage reserved for special occasions. He wanted to follow the Seelies into the portal and carve out each of their soulless hearts one by one.

"Come on - " he murmured as he traced over her iratze rune. He sliced open the ropes around her wrists and pulled her head into his lap. He despised himself for even daring to touch her after he so foolishly allowed her to venture into the demon riddled, murderous Seelie filled streets. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and her earthy green eyes peered up at him.

"Did I get him?"

"Get who? Did you see your attackers?" Jace demanded, trying to be as gentle as possible while he helped her sit up - when all he wanted to do was shake her until she could explain her reasoning for roaming into a dark alley alone at night. Had she no common sense?

"Did I tear the flesh off his hand?"

Jace shook his head as he helped her rise to her feet. "You're something else." he said not without admiration as he secured his arm around her shoulders and led them away from the wretched alley. "And you pick the worst restaurants."

"I didn't see any of their faces. But they were seelies. And do you know what that means?" Clary asked, leaning her head into the small of his neck.

"That I have to break into the Seelie court and tear all their throats out?" Jace offered, feeling some of the tension leave his shoulders as he heard her laughter ring in the night air.

"It means that we now have a _living _victim who can confirm the kidnapping are being performed by Seelies. It means that we have something they never wanted us to have. A breathing victim who likes to talk." Clary smiled, her eyes glinting in the moonlight as she glanced up at him. Jace was surprised to hear laughter come out of his own mouth as they continued down the street.

"It also means they'll be desperate to keep you quiet. And that means I'll have to be glued to your side everywhere you go." Jace replied feeling exposed and vulnerable as they made their way towards Hunter's Moon.

"I don't need a babysitter." Clary huffed, "All those Seelies will be needing serious medical attention."

"Anyone who is crazy enough to stroll into a dark alley in the middle of the night, especially in light of recent events, needs a full team of bodyguards in addition to the babysitter." Jace grumbled as the Hunter's Moon came into view. _And he would see to it that she got just that._

Before Clary could get her two cents in, Magnus and Alec called from across the street. They darted in between cars to join them, Alec's face broke into a wide grin when he saw their DC.

"84 demon kills. Not bad Herondale." Alec said nonchalantly, happily sliding his arm around Magnus' neck. Jace could feel the pride reverberating off of Alec and felt a twinge of brotherly annoyance.

"Don't make me say it." Jace said darkly as he held the door open for them. "You wouldn't believe the day we've had."

"86 kills _and _we dined at two of the city's most high end restaurants." Alec beamed, ordering two drinks from Maia. "I'd say that's quite the accomplishment."

He was cut short when Simon and Isabelle entered the pub, their clothes slightly rumpled and hair mussed. Jace rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and leaned against the bar bench waiting to hear what story they had concocted to address their questionable appearances. He heard Clary giggle from her seat on the stool beside him, while she idly sipped her drink.

"You've got to be kidding me - " Alec said with blatant disbelief. "This is some cruel joke."

"87 kills baby." Simon grinned sliding into the stool next to Clary. "We need to talk."

"Like hell we do." Jace scoffed dragging Simon by the jacket and pulling him outside the pub. Clary followed warily and leaned against the wall eyeing them with exhaustion. Jace felt a twinge of guilt for his small contributions to her stressful day and released his hold of Simon's jacket.

"This is going to sound crazy but - " Simon started.

"The Seelie queen left you a very specific message spelt in vines." Jace finished watching Simon's expression resemble surprise.

"Well yeah. I'm guessing you guys saw it too? I mean it was completely out of nowhere. Isabelle went to go buy food and I was standing by the pond in Central Park and BOOM. Vines come shooting out from the water and - "

"Could Isabelle see it?" Jace interrupted, his eyes briefly darting to the rest of them inside the pub. Isabelle, Maia and her boyfriend Brett Donovan were laughing about some dumb joke he had just made while Magnus and Alec were having some serious face time.

"No it was the strangest thing, she came up beside me with food, looked straight at the pond and continued talking as if nothing was there. I didn't even bother trying to explain what I was staring at." Simon said rubbing the back of his neck. Aw, the poor kid felt bad about lying Jace noted watching him shuffle his feet awkwardly. Too bad he'd have to do a hell of a lot more.

"Let's make sure we saw the same message," Clary said shifting uncomfortably. " "The kiss you most desire won't save anyone this time. Everything ends where it began." "

"Yeah yeah that's it." Simon said rubbing his jaw lightly. "I mean that message - it's something only we saw and something only we can understand. I mean that has to _mean _something doesn't it?"

"Yeah Simon I do believe it does." Clary agreed, giving Jace a very pointed and accusatory look.

He refrained from rolling his eyes and crossed his arms defensively. "Look. I think it's best we keep this between the three of us until we can figure out what the Seelie queen means. Agreed?"

"I mean I guess - " Simon shrugged.

"Good. Don't order too much Lewis, all my money was spent on fast food today." Jace cut off, returning Clary's pointed stare before striding back into the bar. He needed a drink. Or two. Or three.

* * *

"By the angel, Clary are you alright?" Isabelle asked her eyes roving over Clary's body.

"I'm fine. All we have to do now is get a search warrant for the Elite guards' homes and once we find the house with the 4 triangular ring brass knuckles or the person wearing it, we can identify one of the kidnappers." Clary said downing another shot of tequila.

"They're smarter than that." Brett said shaking his head. "They'll remove the ring or hide it somewhere without any connections to them. But at least we know what to look out for."

"I'll have another martini Brett." Isabelle drawled, her head leaning against Clary's shoulder. "I've had a very exhausting and productive day."

"Doing Simon is exhausting and productive?" Jace frowned. "How many drinks have you had?"

"Haha _very _funny." Simon mocked from the pool table. He had certainly had one too many blood spiked drinks, as he was laying on his back atop the pool table, counting all the balls again.

"Something smells DEAD in here," Simon bellowed before bursting into hysterical fits of laughter. "Wait - " he gasped slapping the pool table. "Is it me?"

"Perhaps, but I think the booze overpowers any other odors you may have." Maia quipped.

"You know we have to clean that right?" Brett called wearily as he wiped a glass with his rag.

"Do you hear that?" Alec asked suspiciously, sending Jace into hyper alertness too. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at 1:30 am in the Hunter's Moon. A wasted vampire on the pool table, a couple of seelies groping each other on the dance floor and a werewolf passed out in the corner.

Then there was a loud crack. Jace's head swiveled upwards and he watched as a large crack began knitting itself across the ceiling before it gave way. Alec yanked Magnus away from the falling ceiling just as it came crashing down onto the floor. Somewhere in the distance, one of the seelies screeched and yacked all the contents in her stomach. Jace felt rather sorry for Brett and Maia, and hoped they'd be paid overtime.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the fallen ceiling and the body entangled in the wreckage. Clary was the first to move towards the body.

"Oh my God." Clary murmured crouching down to examine the corpse splayed amongst the rubble. "A Shadowhunter mid 40's with visible signs of torture."

Jace felt bile rise in own his throat as he watched Clary's gloved hand reach into the corpse's mouth and withdraw a piece of parchment. She straightened out the paper and scanned it quickly before turning and staring directly at him. She silently handed the group the paper and stripped off her gloves.

"Andrew Underhill has been kidnapped. Clary Fairchild, Jace Herondale, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood have an hour to save him or he dies." Magnus read into the silence.

"The Seelies have to be behind this. And the corpse." Brett said examining the body.

"You racist!" a drunk seelie cawed from the dance floor. "You racist ego logistical Shadowhunters are always lookin' to blame one of us."

"My ex was a seelie who was murdered in a Clave raid at a club. Don't you dare accuse me of being racist." Brett thundered as he turned to stare at the shocked seelies. "Get out of here before I show you what your intestines looks like."

"Hot," Isabelle murmured, earning several annoyed glances from Alec and Jace.

"I think it's time to share our vine message." Clary said tiredly as she dropped into a chair. Jace gave her a brief nod and studied the parchment carefully, while she began explaining their bridge experience to the others. Jace's mind was whirring as a million possibilities flooded in. Why were only Clary, Alec, Izzy and himself instructed to save Underhill? Did this have any correlation to the events earlier? Was it a trap to kill Clary for being a liability?

"If you had told us this delightful message earlier, I would have told you that the Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, as several things clicked in Jace's mind.

"We only have 40 minutes left," Alec said worriedly as he checked his watch. "Awfully sorry about the mess Maia. The Clave will cover all expenses to fix the roof."  
"Her message earlier said that everything ends where it began." Jace recalled, his eyes darting from the body to the note. "Where did Clary, Izzy, Alec and I begin? That's where Underhill's life will end if these messages are related."

"Pandemonium." Clary said bounding to her feet. "It has to be. I can't think of anything else she could possibly mean."

"It's our best shot, we have nothing else." Alec said grimly as he fastened his quiver and bows across his back.

"Are you all sober enough to go on a mission?" Brett asked doubtfully eyeing their empty drinks and flushed faces. Jace rolled his eyes and started heading towards the door. He had refrained from exceeding 1 drink out of fear that he would be compromised if the seelies launched a second kidnap attempt on Clary. Was Clary a target? Or was it merely a coincidence that a Shadowhunter met a gang of kidnapping seelies in an alley?

"I don't like this." Alec said gruffly as the group jogged towards pandemonium.

"I'm not fond of going on a mission at 2 in the morning either." Jace offered, his eyes peeled for movement in an all but still and quiet night.

Alec shot him an irritated glance as he offered the stele to Jace. Jace's hand instinctively traced over Alec's runes. "It's like we're playing right into her hands. I hate that we have no control. And no way to tie any of this to the Seelie queen. We're being murdered and kidnapped and sent on manhunts like some first year grunts."

"If the queen wants to play we'll play."

* * *

"Do you always breathe this loudly?" Alec groused under his breath as he and Clary climbed the westward wall of the Pandemonium.

Clary dug her dagger into the next groove on the wall and hauled herself higher up. "You do realize that your grumbling and cussing is significantly louder than my breathing?"

Alec humphed as he roughly jabbed his dagger into the wall. Clary and Alec had been climbing the westward wall of the Pandemonium for nearly 10 minutes and they still had about a quarter left. The front doors were all locked and Jace figured it would be best to enter unannounced. Isabelle and Jace had taken the eastward wall and they would all reconvene on the roof before they broke into the club and searched it for Underhill. That meant they had about 15 minutes left to save him.

Clary had to work twice as hard to keep up with Alec's ridiculously long reach. Her wounds had healed but her body was aching from the day's events. She grit her teeth together and slammed her dagger into the wall again.

At last they reached the top and Clary was pleasantly surprised to see that they were there first. She shot Alec a smug smirk which he ignored as he strode to the eastward wall and leaned over.

"If you don't climb a little faster I'm going to die alone up here with nobody but Clary to mourn me." Alec called quietly but loud enough for her to hear. She suppressed her snide retort and began to scout the roof.

Clary tested the only door on the roof, which thankfully granted her access to a staircase. She turned to see Alec hauling Isabelle and Jace up before they joined her at the top of the stairs. Clary drew her daggers and lead the descent into the Pandemonium club.

It was strange to return nearly 2 years later and find herself in a completely different position, but with the same company. Her life had changed completely since the last time she was here. From the very moment she met Jace outside the club, everything she knew had shattered into a thousand pieces. But they were never the right pieces. Now her life was complete with the right pieces. Or as complete as it could be after a day of demon hunting and escaping kidnap.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the group fanned out and searched the main level for any signs of Underhill or his captors. Clary nudged the door to the closet open and felt her heart ease when she discovered it was empty. She joined the others on the dance floor, their eyes scanning over each other's shoulders with care.

There was an unspoken pressure amongst them. A certain level of responsibility that extended beyond duty, to solve the Seelie queen's riddle and save Underhill.

"We have less than 10 minutes. We've searched every room on this floor and Underhill is nowhere to be seen. Do you think the note was a bluff?" Isabelle asked, flexing the whip around her wrist.

"The Seelies don't bluff." Jace murmured, his eyes meeting Clary's for a brief moment. It was enough for her to recognize the pain, frustration and panic in them, that reflected her own.

"Where did this begin?" Alec thought out loud. "We're missing something - damn it - what are we missing?"

"The Seelie queen is specific - what room did we all meet in?" Isabelle asked sweat beading on her brows as Alec checked his watch for the 5th time since they reached the main level.

"Bloody hell who can remember?" Alec said growing frustrated as he clenched his bow in his hand tightly.

"The storage room - " Clary and Jace replied at the same time. Without another word the four of them sprinted towards the storage room hidden at the back of the club. Memories of the first time she saw Jace, Isabelle and Alec came flooding into Clary's mind. It all started with a blue haired demon and a persistent mundane with the sight.

Alec wrenched open the door of the storage room, raising his bow into the room. Underhill was chained to the boiler in the storage room, gagged and badly beaten. A timer attached to a small device was locked to the base of the boiler. The timer read exactly 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

The four Shadowhunters spread out into the room, weapons raised as they scoured the storage room. There were no signs of Seelies or the Seelie queen in sight. However Clary couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Isabelle hurried towards Underhill, tracing the unlocking rune on his chains. Satisfied with their search, Jace and Alec moved to support Underhill as Clary led the way to the exit.

They raced as far away from the club as they could before they heard a loud explosion in their wake. Clary glanced over her shoulder and watched as the Pandemonium burned with flames. It was a ridiculous thought, but a powerful one nonetheless. Was this the Seelie queen's twisted way of showing her how she could destroy Clary's ties to the Shadow world? Or was she reading too much into this like Jace thought? Burning the Pandemonium felt like a personal hit. A bitter feeling overcame her as she turned away from the club and hurried after the others.

"Can we stop for a second?" Underhill wheezed, his breaths coming out in strangled puffs.

"We need to get at least another 100 m away from the club before stopping." Alec said almost apologetically. "There could be Seelies waiting to ambush us within the diameter of the Pandemonium."

Isabelle had traced an iratze on Underhill but he seemed to require much more advanced medical attention than just the rune. Clary kept checking over her shoulder as she covered the group from behind. Isabelle was in the lead, hurrying them along with frantic hand waves.

"Okay, I think we're in the clear." Isabelle breathed as she lead them into a small alcove off the side of a used book store. "I'll call Magnus to portal us back to the Institute."

"Are you alright? How'd they get you?" Alec asked as he retraced Underhill's iratze, allowing him to breathe with less difficulty.

"I was in the training room around midnight. Lorenzo and I had gotten into a fight and I went to blow off some steam - and I - don't know… the next thing I know, I'm chained to a boiler with a time bomb at my feet." Underhill recalled, leaning heavily on Alec and Jace.

Jace was stony and rod straight, his face flashed with - fear. He turned to lock eyes with Clary and she suddenly understood.

"They kidnapped you. Inside the Institute." Clary whispered, feeling the reality of her words send spirals of fear up her spine. Inside the Institute. Was anywhere really safe anymore? Even their own sanctuary was corrupted and infiltrated by merciless killers.

Clary's eyes were suddenly drawn to something clutched in Underhill's hand. She moved towards him, reached down and plucked the object from his hands, feeling her heart stop. By the angel, Raziel save them.

"God, I didn't even realize I was still holding that - "

She turned to face the others and held the bouquet up for them to see. "Vitas veritas."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for the next installment :)


	5. Chapter Five: Tequila Talk

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_By the angel - " Jace sputtered his gaze following something over Clary's shoulder. She whirled around to face the waters beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, watching them rage and gurgle as something came alive from below. _

_The vines rose from the waters, twisting and contorting as they began to spell out a message._

_Her captors tightly bound her wrists, kicked the backs of her knees and lifted her chin up. _

_Clary noted the pointy angle of the man's ears from behind his mask. Seelies._

_Her mind spun with answers of what this could mean and what was about to happen. Was she about to discover the truth behind the Shadowhunter kidnapping by becoming a victim herself?_

"_Let's make sure we saw the same message," Clary said shifting uncomfortably. " "The kiss you most desire won't save anyone this time. Everything ends where it began." "_

"_Andrew Underhill has been kidnapped. Clary Fairchild, Jace Herondale, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood have an hour to save him or he dies." Magnus read into the silence._

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented._

* * *

"Maybe we should take a break - " Jace said eyeing the beads of sweat trailing down Clary's temples. They had been doing this for several hours now and as much as he didn't like to admit it - this was not the time.

"Not yet - " Clary panted as she roughly wiped the sweat across the bridge of her nose.

"There's nothing you can do and this is just tiring both of us out - " Jace weakly protested, watching Clary's flushed face.

Clary was silent as she hammered a few more punches into the padded blocks Jace was holding in his hands. "There's nothing I can do - " Clary huffed adjusting her stance so she could strike the blocks with more force. " - there's nothing you can do - "

Jace felt slightly alarmed as he watched her red hair blaze in the setting sun that trickled into the training room through the large windows. Her face was contorted with a low, simmering rage as she continued to drive her furious fists into the blocks. Of course he would never admit that his arms were growing tired from holding the blocks up for hours as a very angry woman struck at him. But he certainly felt compelled to admit it.

" - there's nothing anybody can do to give us a damn break - " Clary said through gritted teeth as Jace's arms lowered. He stared at her small frame breathing heavily as they both stood silently in the empty training room. "I just don't understand how there can be nothing. I saw the triangular brass knuckle rings on one of the Seelie attackers. I confirmed that the kidnappers are Seelies. After finally getting the search warrant for the Elite guard, after tearing through their homes and nothing. There's nothing."

Jace dropped the padded blocks by his feet and moved closer to her. "Are you finished?"

"For now," Clary sighed looping her arm around his waist and leading them out of the training room.

"And none of the cameras were working during the trial?" Isabelle asked shaking her head with disbelief. Jace eyed the tech goons skeptically as they frowned and shook their heads at each other and Isabelle.

"And none of you mentioned this to a Seelie?" she asked, turning her eyes on each of the tech goons. They shook their heads blankly and Jace struggled to repress an eyeroll. "Dismissed." Isabelle sighed, plopping into her desk chair.

"If Underhill was kidnapped in the training room that night, it must have been when the wards were down." Isabelle said playing with her snake bracelet. "We turn on and off the wards in the Institute at least three times throughout the year to make sure they're intact and functioning."

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Jace asked twirling his stele in between his fingers. He glanced up to see Clary and Isabelle eyeing his stele warily. He quickly slipped it into his pocket and leaned back against the post. "One of the tech goons must have snitched to the Seelies."

"They just denied having any part in it." Isabelle said slouching down into her chair and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Well they're not the brightest bunch, they probably let it slip while they were shacking up with a Seelie in the back of the Hunter's Moon." Jace said, choosing to ignore the contemptful glance Clary had just shot him.

"Let's talk to Meliorn again," Clary offered tightening the laces of her boots as she sat perched at the corner of Isabelle's desk. "He must be able to give us a better lead on these kidnappings - something we can actually go on."

"Alright I'll talk to him in the morning, you guys can go do - something other than being here right now." Isabelle said straightening in her chair and pulling out a sheaf of papers. Jace could see the exhaustion of her position taking a toll on her mental state. Her eyes had dark circles around them and she was clearly running on caffeine.

"Izzy, are you sure you don't need help with anything - " Clary started.

"I'm fine."

"There's no shame in asking for help, it's healthy really - " Clary insisted but Isabelle was already ushering her out the door and staring pointedly at Jace. He sighed and strode towards the door, clapping a hand on Isabelle's shoulder.

"Bang on our door if you need anything." he said, hurrying to catch up with Clary. He could see the tension and stress in her movements and she rolled her shoulders and pulled her jacket off. He followed her into their room and closed the door softly, watching as she knotted her hair messily behind her head and pulled some clothes from the cupboard. He switched his dirty clothes out for a clean pair and flopped onto the bed, feeling the events of the past few weeks pound against his skull.

He felt Clary slip into the spot next to him and he turned to meet her piercing green eyes. Jace felt a strange mix of sadness and urgence as he studied the freckles dotting the tips of her nose. He waited for her to say something. Her mind was so preoccupied these days.

"It feels like it's never going to end." she murmured tracing her finger tips up his chest. "This constant need to look over my shoulder and check, then recheck all the evidence for something we can't even properly identify."

"Do you regret it?" he asked gently, staring at the sheets in an effort to avoid looking at her eyes.

"Regret what?" she whispered, her fingers reaching the slope of his jaw.

"Do you regret coming back - " Jace asked uncertainly, risking a glance up at her. Her eyes lowered to meet his and he couldn't decipher regret hidden behind her eyes. " - to the Shadow world, I mean."

"I don't know," she murmured, her fist tightening around the hair at the nape of his neck. "I crave the rush of the hunt as much as you or Alec, and I love the dignity of our work but a part of me just hates living like this,"

Jace wasn't sure he wanted her to continue but decided to remain silent. He had lived his entire life immersed in the heat and action of the Shadow world. He hadn't known anything except this life. But the way Clary was describing it, it was not the life he'd imagined for himself either. Demon hunting and danger were things he could accept. But he wasn't sure he wanted to settle for wars and betrayals anymore.

"I just hate feeling this way. I hate being powerless pawns in this game that we're playing. Ever since I've joined the Shadow world it's been war after war and it never seems to end." Clary breathed watching him carefully for signs of horror and judgement. But there was none.

"I know it feels that way but it wasn't always like this. It was not always a constant power struggle and revenge fueled wars. I have faith that we'll figure it out, this war will be over soon." Jace replied grasping her hand tightly. He didn't know if he even believed every word he'd just said.  
"We've barely figured things out the last few wars, our luck...do you really think we'll make it out of another?" Clary asked almost fearfully, making Jace feel extreme discomfort towards the direction her question was taking.

"We will," Jace said firmly, although he could hear the uneasiness in his own voice. "We've already had plenty of practice in the last few years, what's one more?"

"Jace…" Clary protested, propping herself up on her forearm so she could properly face him.

"We will be fine," Jace repeated, reaching up to press his hand to her cheek. "We've defeated Valentine, nearly scraped by death on the shores of Lake Lynn, we've outsmarted Lilith's twinning rune, gotten rid of that little piss, Jonathan, so we will figure out how to deal with this Seelie Queen, alright?"

Clary didn't look the least bit convinced but she did lay down and rested her head on his chest, pulling the blanket up higher. The load of bullshit Jace had just spewed hadn't comforted either of them. But sometimes, bullshit was an essential part of staying sane in this life they had chosen.

* * *

"Wait you actually believe that load of bullshit?" Jace asked incredulously as he shoveled a huge scoop of scrambled eggs into his mouth. Isabelle sighed with annoyance as she downed a large sip of coffee.

"It is possible that we're accusing the wrong group of Seelies." Isabelle said mildly, scooting away as Simon slurped his blood spiked strawberry smoothie. "Meliorn told me about this rogue gang of Seelies called Bloody Bloomers. It's rumoured that they like to hunt Shadowhunters and use our angelic blood to spike their drinks. The mixture of our blood and their Seelie herbs supposedly gives them a high, like taking drugs."

"But the Vitas Veritas and the message is trademark of the Seelie Queen." Clary argued, idly stirring her tea. "Unless Meliorn thinks that she's controlling the gang?"

"It's a possibility, but gangs are easily swayed by the right price. It wouldn't be hard for the Elite guard or Seelie Queen to bribe the Bloody Bloomers into working with them. Think about it," Isabelle said, distractedly picking out the blueberries in her porridge. "If the Bloody Bloomers do the dirty work by kidnapping the Shadowhunters, the Seelie Queen gets to use them and then hands the bodies to the gang to exploit and dispose of. It makes for a good alliance."

"Alright so we'll go pay them a little visit." Jace said, slyly sneaking some bacon off of Clary's plate.

"Maybe Luke and I should go or something," Simon said, wiping some strawberry blood smoothie from the corner of his mouth. "I mean is it really smart to just send them their next meal?"

Jace chewed numbly on the stolen piece of bacon as he considered Simon's suggestion. "Well as tempting as it is to watch you become a martyr, I think we'll be fine if we go as a group."

Simon shrugged and slung his arm over Isabelle's chair. "Suits me, I was planning on tagging along anyways."

Before Jace could get his snarky reply in, Clary stood up and rested her hand on Jace's shoulder, squeezing painfully. "Why don't we go now?"

* * *

Clary walked alongside Jace at the back of the group as they made their way down Old Broadway street. The path was alive with wall street workers bustling along as they snapped their chewing gum obnoxiously, argued importantly on their phones or sipped their fancily presented expressos.

Magnus and Alec lead their group as they rounded the corner onto a quieter alley. The change in atmosphere was certainly noticeable as the crowds thinned and the street walkers were no longer haughty socialites. The stores looked beaten and downtrodden as Clary and Jace followed behind Isabelle and Simon.

There was the distinct smell of weed and Clary heard the faint sound of someone catcalling in the distance. Alec pried open the rusty door to a large warehouse sitting unnaturally at the corner of the intersection. They filed in behind him, Clary feeling a strange impulse to check over her shoulder. There was only Jace shuffling in behind her, but her eyes locked with a young, gritty looking man standing across the street. His eyes bored into hers before he kept walking. Jace prodded her back gently and she shook her head before joining the rest of the group. Paranoia. It was truly an infectious disease.

"By the order of the Clave, we request to speak to members of the Bloody Bloomers." Alec called his eyes scanning the dark room. They stood uncomfortably close to one another at the middle of the large warehouse. It was an empty room with a single bright light shining down on them. Clary felt a grip of tension squeezing her insides as her eyes darted around the seemingly empty warehouse.

"This feels like a trap…" Jace whispered his seraph blade held steadily in front of him. Alec peered over at him and his finger twitched over his bow. "Are you sure Meliorn isn't screwing with us?" he asked Isabelle.

"I trust him. And you need to start trusting my judgement Jace because I - " Isabelle began angrily when a loud voice boomed in the darkness.

"Well this is an interesting scene." a voice drawled. Clary could hear the set of several footsteps approaching them from all sides. Her daggers seemed heavier in her hands as she watched several figures emerge out of the dark. At the head of the group was a tall, bulked up man with dirty blond hair. He appeared to be in his 30s but the ragged scar up the side of his jaw gave him the impression of being older.

"I'm Alec Lightwood, the - "

"We know who you all are." the man crooned his sharp eyes roving over the group. "What could we possibly do for you fellas?"

"We wanted to ask you some questions." Alec said, clearly choosing his words very carefully. "About the recent Shadowhunter kidnappings."  
"Well sure," the man said clasping his hands behind his back. "As soon as all your pals drop all their weapons on the ground."

The corner of Alec's lip twitched and he gave the briefest of nods to drop their weapons. Clary noticed that none of them dropped their hidden weapons. The man stepped closer to them, goodnaturedly grinning at them, as if he were welcoming them into his home. He was flanked by a woman with sharply pointed features and oaky brown hair. On his other side was a lightly tanned man with nearly as many tattoos as Jace or Alec.

"What can you tell us about the recent Shadowhunter kidnappings?" Isabelle asked, looking nonplussed by their lack of weaponry defence and intimidating opponents.

"We've heard talk around the block." the man said casually. Clary could feel his hawk like eyes drinking in the sight of them. "But we have no part in that business."

"What business is it that you do take part in? And keep in mind that you're replying to the Head of the New York Institute, the Inquisitor and High Warlock of Alicante." Isabelle warned, which seemed to amuse the scar faced man. His eyes settled on Isabelle, making Clary feel very uncomfortable even though she was not the victim of his intense stare.

"We run a desire quenching, pleasure seeking, climax crushing business." the man said curtly. When he observed their unimpressed expressions he continued, "Our top clients are Shadowhunters who offer their precious angelic blood to us in exchange for an exotic and thrilling experience."

"Explain." Magnus said, sounding incredibly bored.

The man turned his eyes on Magnus and cocked his head as if he were observing an irritable fly. "We operate much like a club. Seelie and Shadowhunter customers attend. I'm sure you've been to a club, Warlock. Clients fraternize and then they indulge. Seelies will drink blood from the Shadowhunters, who receive a _very _blissful rush and we sell alcoholic shots to down the nephilim blood. It makes for a satisfying experience from both counterparts."

"And you have no association with the Shadowhunter kidnappings?" Alec asked derisively. "You haven't struck a deal perhaps? You kidnap and use the Shadowhunters for your business then hand them over to another partner?"

"I assure you good man that we only take willing nephilim participants. I highly recommend giving it a try, our Shadowhunter customers have had very pleasant and sensual experiences." the man replied proudly, his stance daring the group to consider.

"Have you seen any members of the Elite guards visit this venture?" Isabelle asked.

"Now I think we've answered a fair bit of questions for free," the man said, receiving several nods of support from his comrades. "I think it's time that you return a little something for our services."

"We are not offering our blood - " Alec said already reaching for his bow. The man waved his hand flippantly and Alec's fingers clasped around the air.

"We are not asking for your blood." the man said, as if the answer were obvious. "Shots and a dance with some of my employees here. You see, we're often behind the scenes ensuring our customers have a top class experience. We never get to have a little fun. You take some shots and dance with us, we'll answer more questions."

Alec looked ready to refuse but Magnus interrupted. "Deal. The vampire and I will watch from the sidelines and make sure your end of the bargain is upheld." Alec shot Magnus a reproachful glance but he and Simon were already moving out of the way. "We'll be here," he assured the group before they blended in with the dark.

Clary felt a hole burrowing in her stomach as Jace squeezed her fingers before joining the oaky haired girl, waiting for him a few feet away. Clary felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to meet the tattoo emblazoned Seelie. He grinned charmingly at her, revealing several sharply pointed teeth and deceivingly innocent dimples. The only comfort Clary had in this agreement was that Magnus and Simon would be sober and alert, making sure they were safe.

"I'm Kiersan," he said his low voice booming in her ears. "Tequila?" he said, offering her a shot glass filled with sparkling tequila. She tried to hide her nerves and took the glass quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Isabelle had already downed the shot and was dancing quite closely to a denim dorned Seelie. On the other side of Isabelle, Jace's hands were resting on the oaky haired girl's waist, she seemed to be murmuring in his ear.

Clary turned back to face Kiersan, swallowing her anxiety and tipped the tequila into her mouth. She supposed she needed to play the part like Isabelle and Jace if she hoped to retrieve more answers and get the hell out of this den. But after tasting the burn and bitterness of the drink, she got the distinct impression, Isabelle and Jace weren't acting at all. Her muscles itched to press herself closer to Kiersan and grind against him. Her head scolded her for this unfaithful thought but her body was drawn to the warmth reverberating off of the Seelie.

He seemed to read her mind as he drew her in closer, his hands finding the spot where her back met her ass. The music she hadn't noticed earlier, now seemed louder in her ears, as her body rang with happiness as Kiersan touched her. She draped her arms around his neck and leaned her head back as his hands inched lower. Her body was on fire as she became flush against him, his hands were wandering and she found she didn't mind…

"I needed to ask you something - " she mumbled, feeling breathless in the heat of the room.

He craned his neck lower so his lips were against her neck. "Ask away," he whispered sending shocks of pleasure through her body as his hands explored the underside of her jacket.

"Do you know any Elite guards…" she breathed but was silenced by the hardness she felt pressing against her ass. Kiersan must have flipped her so that her bum rested against him. She hadn't even noticed.

She could feel her body moving on it's own accord, grinding against him despite the admonishments her brain was feeding her. It was all being lulled to silence as the music pounded and her body sang. She felt her feet being lifted off the ground as her legs swung to wrap around Kiersan's torso. They seemed to be moving towards a door when she heard a familiar voice she couldn't quite pinpoint, coming from the darkness.

"Where's the warlock and vampire?"

"They were knocked out and left on the side of Old Broadway street."

"I need to head back, are you sure you've got things handled here? The Seelie Queen doesn't like half finished jobs."

"We've got it covered."

"Hey Kiersan! No need to get carried away we're gonna open the door now. You've played with her enough."

Clary heard Kiersan shout a reply but her focus was becoming fuzzy as she felt Kiersan's hand grope her. Before she could catch her breath, she was being tossed back into the light at the center of the room, landing painfully on her hip. The loss of contact from the Seelie granted her instantaneous clarity. She still felt groggy and high but her thinking became less impaired.

Clary raised herself to her feet and saw Jace doing the same a few feet beside her. His jacket was missing and his hair was rumpled but he looked unharmed. Isabelle was nudging Alec with her boot as the lights dimmed and the sound of voices and music ceased.

Clary reached for her fallen daggers and activated her iratze rune. It didn't seem to improve her inhibitions. She felt Jace's shoulder bump into hers. She wasn't sure if he was telling her that he was there or if it was a side effect of their shared drowsiness.

"Do you hear that?" Alec hissed his eyes darting anxiously around the room. And Clary did hear it. It was the faint sound of low breathing. Smelly breathing. Demon breathing. Oh hell.

* * *

Clary blinked to focus her vision and from what she could see there were at least a dozen Moloch demons surrounding them. And not a Seelie in sight. There was no way they could all be this intoxicated after one tequila shot. Unless it wasn't tequila. Or it wasn't one shot. How were they supposed to fight their way out of this?

One of the demons released a vicious blast of fire that singed the tips of Alec's hair. Isabelle shrieked as she sluggishly dodged another blast that sizzled lightly on the surface of her shoulder. Clary dove underneath a large claw, feeling it's slimy skin graze her back. She wheezed as she was flung like a ragdoll against a post, her vision blinking in and out of focus. She saw Alec and Jace vainly attempting to dodge a trio of nasty demons who seemed quite pleased that their opponents were incredibly indisposed.

Clary grit her teeth as she heaved herself off the floor and ran her stele once more over her iratze rune. The rune gave a slight jolt of recognition but she still felt as if her brain was being dragged like a sack through a rough and thick substance. Clary saw a single Moloch demon sneaking up behind Isabelle and she began clumsily sprinting towards her.

As the demon seized Isabelle by the wrist and launched her into the air, Clary aimed her dagger for its chest but it ended up sinking into its side. The effects were the same. The demon reeled as he dropped Isabelle onto the ground and turned its monstrous face onto Clary. She stumbled back and barely dodged a blast of fire. She jabbed her other dagger into its calf, watching its large form crumple to the ground. She was knocked on her ass by it's humongous claw as a stream of fire burned through the back of her jacket.

Clary could hardly find the air to scream as she dragged herself away from the bloodthirsty demon. He inched closer to her, watching as she weakly shuffled away, her limbs screaming for relief. As it reached an arms distance away, Clary mustered her strength and threw a dagger into its eye socket. The dagger spun in the air before piercing the demon's eye and disintegrating it to nothingness. She felt arms under her shoulders pulling her away from the center.

"Can you stand?" Jace breathed, nearly tripping over his own feet as they neared the edge of the room. Isabelle was leaning heavily on the half burned post, a nasty gash gracing her cheek and burns all along her arm. Clary nodded and righted herself enough to allow Jace to bend away and vomit.

"The iratze rune doesn't work. Must've been something in the tequila," Clary called to Alec. He stood opposite Isabelle trying to activate hers. As she gripped Jace's shoulders, trying to support him while he puked, she noticed that there was blood seeping through Alec's pants and his neck was covered in blisters from the fire.

"We need to get out," he coughed, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "There's no way we can win...not in this condition."

"Not without finding Simon. And Magnus." Isabelle wheezed, clutching her arms to her chest.

"They were knocked out," Clary said, her raspy voice ringing in her ears. "Left on Old Broadway." The others did not question how she knew this but nodded and scanned the room, searching for exits.

Jace stood up shakily from his hunched position, looking as though he had swallowed nails. He barely seemed conscious as he leaned on Clary for support. Clary did her best to hold him steady from the waist but he continued to sway dangerously on his feet.

"The demons are stupid, they're waiting for us in the light at the center," Alec said, peeking out from behind the post. "We need to climb those stairs and get to the door. Looks like it leads to the roof."

"Alec will run left, I'll run right, you take Jace and start running down the middle and up the stairs." Isabelle said, already snapping her whip out. Clary nodded, gripping Jace in one hand while holding her sword in the other.

As soon as Alec and Isabelle charged out the sides of the circle, Clary pulled Jace along the middle, praying that most of the demons were injured or killed. Out of the corner of her eye, Alec had shot an arrow at a heavy footed demon, missing it's head by a few centimeters and striking the wall instead. Alec never missed. On the other side, Isabelle had two demons in the deadly grip of her whip and she weakly yanked them to the floor.

Clary felt her feet slow as Jace's weight dragged them behind. "Come on Jace, move." she whispered urgently, tugging him along. They were nearly halfway across the center. She heard Isabelle scream in the distance but she didn't have time to look as another Moloch demon darted towards them. Clary pushed Jace behind her, hearing him fall to his knees as she lead the demon away from him. It gave chase and she felt its steaming breaths against her already wounded back.

Clary turned and sliced a claw cleanly off demon. As it roared in pain, Clary threw herself onto its back, her nails digging in as she struggled to hold on, physically and mentally.

She was hanging on with one hand. Her dagger had clattered to the floor in the demon's savage attempt to fling her off. She quickly glanced towards Jace, who was still laying in a heap on the floor, no demons seemed to be near him. Sweat rolled down her spine, stinging as it touched the burns on her back. Her hand grappled for a weapon, only finding the stele in her pocket.

Clary hauled herself up with one arm and used the other arm to drive the stele into the eye of the demon. Her hands grasped air as she fell to the floor, the monster turning to ashes in front of her. Her back met the ground with a painful thud, her injuries singing with fury. Her mind was cloudy, but she could hear the distinct sounds of more demons approaching.

She half crawled, half dragged herself towards Jace and pulled them both on their feet. Fire at their backs, they managed to reach the staircase. "Jace I need you to start climbing."

He didn't respond, his head lolling from side to side but his eyes were open, alert and frustrated. She gripped his shoulders and forced their eyes to meet. "I need you to climb. Move, please." she urged and by some miracle, he nodded briefly before limping up the stairs.

Isabelle had joined her at the foot of the stairs, her breathing ragged but she looked otherwise unharmed. Clary nodded for her to follow Jace, her eyes searching desperately for Alec. She saw him hidden beneath the weight of a lone Moloch demon, wrestling for air. The other demons were badly injured and located sporadically around the room. Clary's head was pounding as she climbed to the top of the stairs. She leaped onto the railing and jumped down onto the demon assaulting Alec.

She didn't have any weapon on her but her weight was enough to confuse the creature. Alec pulled himself out from underneath and stabbed the demon in the chest with the edge of his bow. He grabbed her hand and they ran as quickly as their foggy brains would allow them towards the stairs. Clary was relieved to see Isabelle pushing Jace up the top step as she pulled him towards the door. Alec and Clary darted up the stairs as the remaining demons charged after them. They were nearly at the top when the stairs began to crumble beneath them.

Fire.

Alec shoved Clary to safety, his fingers just catching on the edge. Clary cried out for help as she tried to heave him up. His long legs swung weightless as the demons jumped and tried to snatch at them. There was no way she could pull him up herself. There was no way she could let him fall.

Another set of hands fumbled to hold onto Alec's other arm. She saw Jace's pale and sweaty face beside her and together, they dragged Alec onto the stable surface.

"Let's go!" Isabelle yelled, motioning them towards the heavy bolt door she was holding open. Jace and Clary held Alec up on either side of them as they ran to Isabelle. The walls were slick with flames as the demons began to crawl up the sides.

Clary felt cool air kiss her face as they fell onto the rooftop. Isabelle slammed the door shut behind them and collapsed next to the others. Clary heard familiar voices calling in the distance and looked up to see Magnus and Simon rushing towards them. Magnus flicked his wrist and a portal appeared against the night sky. And then, there was darkness.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't arrest them?" an angry voice hissed.

"These four came back intoxicated. How can they provide an accurate account of the truth when they were completely wasted? It'll never be considered seriously in court." another voice replied.

"Well Simon and I were there. We saw them take the shots given to them by the Bloody Bloomers." the first person snarled, his voice rising.

"Right. But you just admitted you saw them take the shots. And you also said you were knocked out afterwards and dumped on Old Broadway. So you can't testify and say that they were intentionally drugged and left to die because you weren't there. And their statements will be dismissed given their state." the second voice said not unkindly. "Look, we know the truth. They were probably poisoned through the alcohol and then left to die. But we don't have evidence to charge them. I'm sorry."

Clary blinked blearily and saw the two figures exit the room. Magnus and Brett. She leaned back against her pillow, her mind much more coherent but her body still ached. She peered around the infirmary and saw Isabelle wide awake on the cot to her left. Isabelle sighed as the door closed behind Magnus and Brett, resting a tired arm across her forehead. Alec was on Isabelle's other side still dozing. On Clary's right Jace was stirring, his blond hair washed of blood and his clothes devoid of grime.

"Do you think this means the Bloody Bloomers are working with the Seelie Queen?" Isabelle asked, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It's possible," Clary muttered as she sat up on her cot and pulled the covers over her lap. "But this isn't really the queen's style. She wants to know where Jonathan is right? She's under the impression we have him somewhere and refuses to acknowledge he's dead. Why would she order for us to be killed if we're her only hope of returning him?"

"Bloody hell," Jace cussed, swinging his legs off the bed and gulping down mouthfuls of water straight from the pitcher on his bedside table. "Why do we keep accepting food and drinks from Seelies? Haven't we learned better by now?"

Clary couldn't bring herself to smile at the memory of her, Jace and Jonathan at the club in Prague. If this wasn't a Seelie Queen ordered attack, then they had just been played.

"Oh angel, Simon…" Isabelle groaned throwing the covers over her head. "This was definitely sexual assault. We've been sexually assaulted."

"And drugged." Alec added drearily from his bed, rolling to face away from the group.

"And beaten." Clary mumbled, trying to rub some feeling back into her arms. Jace slid into bed next to her, still cradling the water pitcher like a baby. "You look like hell." she said watching his eyebrows furrow with amusement as he plopped the pitcher back on the table.

"Hell must be incredibly sexy." he smirked before his eyes widened as they settled on her neck. "Please tell me a Moloch demon left that mark on your neck," Jace said, screwing his nose up with disgust. Clary reached up to touch her neck and felt a slight throb where a freshly forming hickey was.

Her cheeks burned and she looked at him crossly. "There's no need to look so affronted. Where's your jacket hmm? Dropped it in the club? Or in between love bites?"

Before Jace could reply, Alec's bed creaked as he rose and pulled on a shirt. "Why didn't our iratzes work? They should have helped neutralize the effects of the drug."

"Recent _illegal _Seelie drugs are powerful and carefully designed to withstand Shadowhunter healing runes. I was working on those cases before these murders came up. There's been quite a rise in these drugs in New York." Isabelle frowned.

"They're like roofies," Clarry yawned, snuggling lower into the blankets and leaning into Jace. She felt his strong arm pull her in closer and she felt a strong urge to sleep. "The Shadow world is doing the same thing lowly mundanes do."

"Maybe," Alec agreed as he reached the door of the infirmary. "But I doubt stoned mundanes have had to fight demons on their way out of a club."

* * *

The next day, they had left the infirmary and headed straight for the ops center. In addition to the Shadowhunter serial killings, they still had ordinary routine work that had to be taken care of. Isabelle was in a right state as she hurried around the Institute barking orders and correcting protocols. When Raj approached her with a complaint about the long patrol shifts, Isabelle looked simply murderous.

"Alec spoke to Meliorn this morning." Jace said grimly as he and Clary scouted the area near the Bloody Bloomers' den. They had returned to scope out the area in hopes of finding lingering members who could be taken in for questioning. They had killed a few remaining Moloch demons, lurking near the shabby shops.

"He didn't accuse him of being in on the attack did he?" Clary asked, her eyes scanning the area.

"No. But he was suspicious." Jace replied, rolling his eyes at Clary's reproachful glance. "Come on, Meliorn happens to suggest a potential lead and then we're suddenly drugged, assaulted and left to die? That can't be a coincidence."

Jace watched Clary's lips purse with stubborness. It worried him how easily she placed faith in other people. While he admired her astounding ability to trust in the good nature of strangers, he was a realist. And in this life, every single face was a mask just waiting to break and reveal the true horrors lying beneath.

Clary paused suddenly, her shoulders tense as her eyes narrowed into the distance. Jace stilled and reached out to gently nudge her arm. Her fists were clenched and her lip curled angrily. He followed her gaze into the distance and saw through a crummy bar window, that there were several men sitting inside, chatting and laughing jovially.

"Clary?"

"It's Kiersan," she said tight lipped.

"Kiersan?" he repeated, the name having no significance to him. He felt nervous as he watched her tense shoulders rise and fall with each breath.

"He was the Seelie I danced with. Yesterday."

It took a moment before it clicked in Jace's mind. Then rage flowed through his veins, a torrential downpour of fury that drowned out the sounds of honking taxis, bad music and Clary's protests. His feet were leading him towards the bar as the blade in his hand felt warm and hungry.

"Jace _stop,_" Clary hissed, her small hands trying to wrench him back to their original path. "There's nothing you can do, you heard Brett and Magnus - "

Jace reached the door of the bar and kicked it open with his foot. The bar was relatively empty except for a few day drinkers and the three men at the bar. The bartender was poorly flirting with a tipsy warlock, as he half leaned over the counter. He spotted Kiersan immediately. He was the only Seelie there.

Several drinkers turned to eye him wearily as he stormed inside but looked unfazed as they tipped their liquid lovers back into their mouths and returned to their mindless chatter. Clary was growling at him from under her breath, but he didn't hear a single word she said.

He reached the seat where Kiersan was sitting and resisted the urge to kiss his neck with his seraph blade. Instead, he lightly prodded him in the spine with the sharp tip of the sword. Kiersan was still laughing at whatever pathetic joke he had just made and turned idly around to face Jace. His face darkened when he recognized them.

"Hey man, you look pissed as hell, so I'm gonna go on a limb and say you're the boyfriend." he drawled, completely oblivious to the sharp blade resting an inch from his chest. "Look, you're a soldier eh? I am too. You know that sometimes, we have to follow orders, whether we like them or not - "

Jace heard the sword clatter to the floor and then his hands were dragging the Seelie off the chair. There were shouts in the bar as he brought his fist back and sharply struck Kiersan on the side of his jaw. Jace felt a dark impulse to laugh as blood spurted from his mouth. Kiersan reached for Jace's neck to push him away but he was faster and he swung his knee upwards to meet Kiersan's stomach.

"What the fuck man - " Kiersan coughed, wheezing, as fell onto his back. Jace swooped the seraph blade up and pressed it against his neck, daring him to move an inch. Kiersan sneered at him, the smell of alcohol wafting towards Jace, making him feel even more sick.

"The knee to the chest was for drugging me," he snarled watching Kiersan's eyes narrow venomously. "And the punch was for touching Clary."

With a final glance at his pathetic face, Jace rose and hauled Kiersan to a standing position. "By the order of the Clave, you're under arrest for the illegal use of drugs and sexual assault." he said stonily as he spun Kiersan around and slapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

There was a strange satisfaction in walking the Seelie back to the Institute. He was very aware of Clary seething beside him, unsure of whether she was more pissed at him or Kiersan. In the last few weeks, every attempt they'd made at restoring peace had failed. This was definitely not a victory but it was certainly the most sweet kind of justice.

* * *

"You're really not going to say anything?" Jace asked as he sat on an examination table. Clary stood opposite him and was irritably drawing the iratze rune on his bare chest. His knuckles were bleeding from punching Kiersan in the jaw and some of his old wounds from the club attack had reopened, despite earlier attempts to heal them.

Clary wasn't sure why she was angry with him. Well of course there was the fact that he had allowed his emotions to cloud his judgement on something completely immature and petty. But she couldn't berate him for it because she had done the same.

When they brought Kiersan back to the Institute, he had been questioned intensely by Alec and Clary. He confessed to giving Clary a spoiled drink, but he denied being part of making it or buying it. He had no idea if the gang's trap had been affiliated with the Seelie Queen. When he had unapologetically confessed to taking advantage of her while she was high, Clary's emotions had succeeded in blinding her to reason. She reached across the interrogation table and slapped him hard across the face, watching red blossom on his cheek. She was promptly escorted out of the room by Magnus.

And then, Kiersan was sent to the Guard.

"Oh come on," he groaned, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her in between his legs so they were nearly chest to chest. "You got a wicked hit on him too. Besides, that asshole deserved it."

Clary sighed and pressed their foreheads together. "I know," she mumbled, feeling the anger deflate and disappear. Jace nudged her nose gently with his and pressed his lips to hers. She felt a rush of warmth spread throughout her body as she grasped his shoulders tightly and slipped her tongue into his mouth. His hands had found the underside of her tank top and slowly pulled it off her. She felt her breath catch as his lips crept down the side of her jaw and neck. Her fingers fumbled with the belt on his pants, as he unzipped her jeans and slid them down her legs with his feet. His pants dropped to the floor as she caught his lip between her teeth hungrily, pulling him closer for more.

He pushed her underwear aside and lifted her so that she was straddling his hips. Clary moaned as she felt Jace inside her, her insides squirming with an explosion of nerves. His breath became laboured as he stroked the sides of her body with his knuckles before reaching up into her hair. Clary could feel her muscles clenching as she cried out, watching Jace's jaw clench as he buried his face in her neck.

He glanced up at her and grinned. "I love makeup sex."

She couldn't help but laugh, before pulling him in for another searing kiss that sent sparks of joy throughout her body. His lips moved softly against hers as he lay her down on the infirmary bed beneath him. She was breathless as they tore at each other's lips, when a knock came at the door.

Jace and Clary reluctantly broke apart as Brett's voice rang out uncomfortably in between their heavy breaths. "Uhh, Isabelle sent for you guys. We're in the lab."

There was the sound of feet quickly retreating. Clary pushed Jace off her and threw him his shirt, to which he caught and grumbled about as he pulled it swiftly over his head. They changed and hurried to the lab where Isabelle and Aline were studying something very closely. Alec was sitting on a stool off to the side, typing away on his computer as Magnus stood behind him and pressed his shoulders.

"Did you find something?" Clary asked, trying to keep the tone of hope out of her voice.

Isabelle raised her head and smiled crookedly. "We did." She motioned the others closer and prodded Aline on the arm.

"So I was studying all the bodies we'd found and I noticed something congruent with all of them. It's really small so it could be a false positive from the tests but there's a tiny particulate from another dimension that briefly made contact with each victim." Aline explained, her gloved hands pointing to a speck on the magnified screen that looked like dust to Clary.

"It took a really long time but I was eventually able to narrow it down to three of the oldest dimensions that exist. From there, I had to do a bit of research to find out which one had weapons that partially matched the murder and torture weapons of the bodies. The dimension had to have a staff or sharp stick that was capable of burning, serrated knives and thick, rough rope, amongst others. Turns out it's the Middle Ages when England was experiencing the Protestant reformation." Aline continued, pressing a button to change the slides and show them the potential weapons fitting the description along with an image of the dimension.

"And guess what?" Isabelle added, a glint of fire returning to her eyes. "The soldiers at the Guard who processed Kiersan found an invitation shoved into one of his pockets. An invitation from the Seelie Queen to a ball in that very dimension. For tomorrow night."

The excitement in the room was contagious, at the prospect of gaining new intelligence to solve this case.

Jace smirked and rubbed the stubble on his jaw lightly. "Looks like it's time to crash a ball."

Author's Note - PLEASE READ

1\. I'm SO SORRY for the ridiculously late update. Life is just so crazy.

2\. Please try and bear with me, updates will be irregular BUT I am pleased to say I have TWENTY CHAPTERS roughly outlined/planned for this story.

3\. I will try to include _Previously on Long Live the Hunt _recaps at the beginning of each chapter now because I realize it must be easy to forget what happened in between updates.

THANK YOU :)


	6. Chapter Six: La Belle de la Balle

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, _

"_It wouldn't be hard for the Elite guard or Seelie Queen to bribe the Bloody Bloomers into working with them. Think about it, if the Bloody Bloomers do the dirty work by kidnapping the Shadowhunters, the Seelie Queen gets to use them and then hands the bodies to the gang to exploit and dispose of. It makes for a good alliance."_

_When they brought Kiersan back to the Institute, he had been questioned intensely by Alec and Clary. He confessed to giving Clary a spoiled drink, but he denied being part of making it or buying it. He had no idea if the gang's trap had been affiliated with the Seelie Queen. _

"_I had to do a bit of research to find out which one had weapons that partially matched the murder and torture weapons of the bodies. The dimension had to have a staff or sharp stick that was capable of burning, serrated knives and thick, rough rope, amongst others. Turns out it's the Middle Ages when England was experiencing the Protestant reformation." Aline continued_

"_The soldiers at the Guard who processed Kiersan found an invitation shoved into one of his pockets. An invitation from the Seelie Queen to a ball in that very dimension. For tomorrow night."_

"_Looks like it's time to crash a ball."_

* * *

"If you don't wear that one I'll kill you," Maia laughed, leaning back on the pouffe and reaching for some more chips. Isabelle twirled happily and adjusted the straps of her gown in front of her mirror.

"Hold still or your fingers will look red too." Clary scolded, attempting to hold the nailpolish brush steady. Clary had discovered that Maia was a very hyper character and was not meant to be sitting still for long periods of time.

"Are you sure it's not too modern? Does it scream the Middle Ages enough?" Isabelle asked, critiquing her reflection. Her gown was off the shoulder long sleeved cream colored at the top before falling in layers of red velvet around her.

"You could definitely pass off as the village idiot." Clary laughed as she carefully screwed the nail polish shut. "You look amazing," she assured, standing to change into her gown. Her attire was much more fitted, with belle sleeves and a pale white color. Isabelle tossed her some weapons and she sheathed them into the hidden holsters beneath her dress.

"Let them dry please," Clary chided, slipping into her dress as she wearily eyed Maia reaching for the bag of chips.

"Don't eat so much or you'll never be able to eat dinner with Brett." Isabelle advised, swiping the chips away from Maia's grip and helping herself. "I already had to give him a night off while we're shorthanded so you two could go out."

"Hurry up!" Alec's voice boomed from down the hall. "I'm pretty sure mascara wasn't invented during the Protestant Reformation - "

"WE'RE COMING!" Isabelle snapped loudly as she haughtily slapped her snake bracelet on and led the way to the ops center. "This place still better be operating perfectly when I get back." she warned, shoving a long list of instructions into Raj's hands.

"Please be careful." Magnus said regretfully waving them to the portal. "It's 7pm right now. The return portal will be waiting for you at midnight in an abandoned lighthouse just down the road from the ball. And please don't drink anything they offer." Alec grinned and pecked Magnus' cheek before stepping into the portal. Jace, Isabelle and Clary followed after him. The familiar sensation of the world squeezing and churning momentarily enveloped Clary, before she found herself at the side of a cobbled street.

"Watch where you're going eh!" an angry man admonished. Clary turned to see a portly mundane manning a horse drawn carriage that came to an abrupt stop at the entrance of a large palace. The palace loomed over them with a great sense of regality and superiority. Large windows lined the walls of the palace. Clary could see massive chandeliers dangling from the ceiling like grapes. Her eyes instantly sought out the Seelie Queen. She was dancing with a stranger, her crown glinting in the light as her irritatingly red lips curled back with fake laughter.

"You're a pretty hot blond." Jace murmured in her ear, his arms looping around her to place the mask around her eyes. Magnus had temporarily changed her hair to a sandy blond shade to make her less noticeable in the crowd. They were fortunate that the Seelie ball was a masquerade. She was shaken out of her daze and turned to face him. Jace's golden locks were lazily swept to the side and his smirk shone beneath his mask. Even in another century, Jace was beautiful.

Before she could reply, Alec and Isabelle appeared from around the corner. "We didn't see signs of torture or anywhere they could have kept Shadowhunters."

"We'll have to scope around inside too then," Jace frowned, his finger grazing the seraph blade hidden against his hip bone.

They followed Isabelle to the entrance of the palace where she handed the guard their stolen invitation from Kiersan's pocket. He wordlessly accepted it and motioned them inside. The room was filled with British seelies dancing and socializing. The room had a dank smell of overly strong perfume, like the Bath and Body Works store, and there were bloody roses decorating the walls and posts of the hall. At the end of the large room was a stage, while the sides of the room were lined with tables of food. On the opposite wall facing the stage, hung a large painting of the Seelie Queen rising from the earth, her sharp features gleaming down at the guests.

"That's La Reine de la Balle." Isabelle muttered disdainfully as they passed below the massive painting. "The Seelies boast their queen was selected to be painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but Shadowhunters think it's bullshit. They seem to praise it though, so be careful not to insult it."

"We'll split up, mingle, keep our cover. Try and get some information out of the visitors about the Seelie Queen or the kidnappings. Look for places where they might have held the kidnapped Shadowhunters. That's the evidence we need to make an arrest." Alec whispered in hushed tones. There was really no need, nobody was listening. And if they were, it was impossible to hear against the old timey music and chatter. "Remember, we're pretending to be half Seelies who are delegates from America. The Seelie Queen has deputy seelie leaders all over the world. If we're separated the entire night, make sure you meet at 12am at the lighthouse."

Before they could get another word in, a loud and unsubtle cough came from behind them. A tall dark haired man grinned sweetly at them from behind his mask. "Would you do me the utmost honor of indulging in a dance with me?" he offered his hand to Isabelle.

"What a stupid hat he's got on - " Alec grumbled as Isabelle was lead to the dance floor. The three of them became dispersed amongst the seelie crowd. Clary wandered over to a food table, not to eat, God, definitely not to eat - but she was hoping to be able to sneak off to search the crevices of the palace.

Nobody seemed to be paying her any mind as she stood at the corner of the room. She'd lost sight of the Seelie Queen but she could see Isabelle chatting up the dark haired man on the dance floor. She smiled to herself before sinking into the shadows and began creeping along the hallways. She nearly crashed into a seelie pair groping each other around the corner and suppressed an eye roll as she moved around them.

Clary had checked the entire first floor of the palace and had found no signs of secret trap doors or holding cells, where the kidnapped Shadowhunters could have been kept. She winded her way back to the main festivities, disappointed with her lack of findings and bumped into Isabelle by the live music. She had waved off a pair of older, arrogant looking seelies before turning to grin at Clary. Clary wished she was as socially confident as Isabelle.

"Guess what I just learned?" Isabelle asked happily, pulling Clary away from the live music. "So apparently Meliorn has a sister who got married to a mundane in this dimension. And a few weeks ago she was accused of infidelity in the town square and she had to go to the Church of England for pardoning and everything. _And _right after that, she was caught having sex with a knight in an inn. Also, that Ferranti guy that Jace hates? He was here a few weeks ago getting hammered in the pub! That's what those old seelies told me, anyways - damn this century is interesting. But more importantly - " Isabelle babbled, "Orville? One of our victims? Apparently he was having an affair with some seelie from this dimension called Paulina."

"Wow the village ladies really know it all." Clary chuckled. "I didn't find anything at all on the first floor. Alec was supposed to search the grounds again and then the basement if there is one, and Jace was supposed to scope the top floor. I'll go look for them, you stay and try to find Paulina."

Fighting her way through the thick crowds proved difficult. She was shot several dirty looks and had to excuse herself from several very intimate dance partners. Just as she was about to reach the staircase a man appeared in front of her, beaming his gallant features at her.

"My lady, allow me to introduce myself. The name is Gorman, I'm a member of the Seelie Queen's esteemed head guard. Would you care to dance?"

Clary felt annoyance bloom in the pit of her stomach. The last time she'd danced with someone, it had been more of a sexual assault experience, she hoped to avoid. Nevertheless, she nodded, plastering a false smile on her face as she allowed him to lead her to the floor.

"What association do you have with the queen?" Gorman asked, his massive frame towering over her. She felt extremely anxious as she followed his lead. There was so much room for error.

"I'm an American delegate." She replied, hoping her curt answer was convincing. He seemed oblivious to her unease and continued to dance to the music.

"An American delegate," he echoed, sounding impressed with her position. "Well I do fancy Americans. If you're ever in town, you should ask the village porter to find me. He knows where to direct you…"

Clary had never felt so disgusted or uncomfortable. She grinned and nodded, hoping to squeeze some useful information from him before running in the opposite direction. "And what sort of work do you do for the Seelie Queen's head guard?"

"Oh you know, this and that." he said a little too loudly, smiling so his sharp teeth became visible. Several people turned to observe the strange pair but hastily glanced away when they saw Clary looking.

"Surely you can relieve me of my curiosity?" Clary pressed, hoping to stroke his ego enough to get some answers.

"Well I bounce between this dimension and the real time dimension. We've got exciting business within the Seelie court." he replied proudly, his chest inflating with more arrogance than even Jace.

"Exciting business? Oh, I'm sure my superior would love to hear more about this endeavor." she prodded.

"The Seelie Queen is a true mastermind, ingenious and brilliant. She's going to bring the Seelie race to their proper rank in the Downworld hierarchy. And let me just say, the Shadowhunters will find themselves booted to the bottom." he boasted.

"How does she plan on accomplishing such a feat? Those Shadowhunters have quite the empire." Clary offered, trying to carefully phrase her inquiries. In the corner of her eye she spotted Jace's masked figure at the balcony of the second floor. As Gorman spun her on the dance floor, he was gone.

"There's a plan in motion, my dear." he said almost affectionately. "I never understood what the queen saw in that Jonathan Morgensterm. Frankly, her affair brought the seelies more grief than reward. I'm told he proved very useful, I'm you've heard all about that in America - "

Clary felt bile at the back of her throat as she excused herself from him. "Wait - " he called.

She grit her teeth and turned to face him. He pulled off his leather gloves and offered them to her. "Please, take them. Consider them a token of my affection. Should you ever find yourself in need of a lover."

Clary reached out to accept the gloves and nearly dropped them when her eyes drunk in the sight of a 4 triangular brass knuckle ring on his hand. She turned without another word and darted up the stairs, hoping to find Jace. God, this changed so much. Surely this was enough for an arrest?

When Clary had been attacked in the alley, she had managed to pull the gloves off of her attacker and had seen the same 4 triangular brass knuckle rings. Had she just danced with her assailant? With the leader of the Shadowhunter kidnappings?

* * *

Millions of thoughts were ransacking her mind as she hurried along the quieter halls on the second floor. Several couples were disappearing into the rooms, others were tipsily dancing on the balcony, but there was no sign of Jace.

She peered over the balcony, resting her arms on the railings and desperately scanning the crowds for some sign of Isabelle or Alec. The Seelie Queen was still prancing around like an idiot on the dance floor, blowing kisses to her companions and tipping back her seelie champagne. Clary disbanded her unfruitful search and continued darting through the hallways, seeking Jace. She needed to get to him.

At last, she leaned against a post at the secluded and empty corner of the balcony. She surveyed the crowds with extreme distaste. She had a dark and sinister desire to set the palace on fire.

"Hey did you find anything?" Jace's voice asked from behind her. She snapped out of her daze and launched herself into his arms. He was startled for a moment, before securing his arms around her waist. "Is that a yes?"

She crushed her lips against his, desperate to feel safe and secure again. She wanted nothing more than to wipe Gorman's hands from her body. Clary pulled away from a slightly disconcerted Jace, and began pouring out everything she had learned tonight.

"Where is he?" Jace demanded his eyes raking over the crowds below them, trying to filter out Gorman.

"Can we arrest him here?" Clary asked, watching Jace's jaw clench and unclench.

"No. We'd expose ourselves as outsiders and we could be punished for sneaking into a Seelie party. We'll have to wait till we're back in our dimension to arrest him." Jace sighed, his grip tightening on the railing.

Clary felt reckless and daring as she drew him away from the railing and pulled him against her.

"Clary...we're on a balcony...undercover at a Seelie ball…" Jace mumbled in between her frenzied kisses. She knew that. She did. But she needed a distraction. She needed a reminder that love and hope and all that dumb shit existed. She could not bear the thought of pretending to smile and be happy any longer.

"You didn't find anything related to the kidnappings on this floor?" she slurred, almost drunkenly kissing his neck. She licked his pulse spot, relishing as she felt him come alive underneath her touch.

"No…" Jace whispered, his fingers bunching up the folds of her dress.

"Isabelle and I didn't either...and I'm sure Alec was equally unsuccessful...we did our jobs…" Clary murmured, backing him up against the post of the balcony. He groaned softly and pressed his lips against hers, raising flames of fire inside of her. He turned so that she was flush against the post, before hoisting her up and pressing up against her.

She wrapped her legs around his torso, rocking against him as she breathed in his familiar smell. She moaned, leaning her head against the pillar, as he hiked the dress up higher. Jace moved to cover most of her small frame from any unlikely witnesses to their quickie. She gasped as he entered her, gripping his arms tightly as he pounded her against the post.

"The dresses in this century aren't that bad…" he whispered, sliding his hands against the thin material of her dress. There was something thrilling and exhilarating about fraternizing at the enemies' party. It was almost a rush of rebellion that drove Clary mad with excitement.

She nearly cried out as his fingers wandered to the material covering her chest. He rubbed gently against her breasts, igniting waves of pleasure and lust. She tilted his jaw to the side, nibbling along the underside of his stubble, before biting at the nape of his neck. He cussed loudly, as he held one of her hands above her head on the post.

She yanked his mask off, drinking in his full and gorgeous face, before attacking it with her lips. It was as if her body was starving for his touch. Every part of her was singing with fire and ice as he thrust into her.

"By the angel - " Clary groaned, feeling her insides tighten as they came together. Jace was breathing heavily, his head buried in her neck as he helped her down. "I love you, you know that?"

"God, I love you." he whispered into her hair, securing an arm around her waist as they made their way towards the stairs.

* * *

"Nothing in the basement?" Isabelle asked Alec, as the four of them reunited at a lonely food table by the doors.

"Nothing." Alec sighed, running a tired hand through his hair. "I was so sure we'd find something after Aline's discovery. All three bodies had particulates from this dimension. There has to be something…"

Jace and Clary told the others of Gorman and the connection they'd made. They agreed they couldn't arrest him till later but after Clary pointed him out in the crowd, Jace was determined to speak to him.

"Jace no!" Isabelle hissed tugging on his coat sleeve. He ignored her and tried to move past her.

"Jace you can't, you'll blow our cover!" Alec angrily whispered pushing him hard in the chest. Jace seemed to have misheard him and checked his shoulder as he moved past him. Clary jumped in front of him and gripped his shirt tightly.

"Jace don't you dare. Dance with me now." she said hurriedly, dragging him in the opposite direction of Gorman and his goons. Jace's eyes were cast over her head, glaring venomously at the other seelies.

"Are you seriously going to stare at Gorman instead of me?" Clary asked trying to draw his attention away before he caused a scene. For someone who constantly berated her for emotions clouding her judgement, he had always been the biggest hypocrite.

His eyes darted down to her and his features softened as he pulled her closer against him. "This music is trash."

"Shh!" Clary said peering around to see if the musicians had heard. They hadn't, but the old ladies Isabelle had been gossiping with did. They giggled very childishly and scarpered away towards the drinks table. "Do you remember the last time we danced?" Clary asked, still trying to dissipate some of his anger.

Jace peered accusingly down at her. "I always remembered, not quite sure that you did." Clary rolled her eyes but felt less stressed now that his arms relaxed around her. "You're not planning on running away and leaving me again are you?"

"Never again." Clary grinned, meeting his piercing eyes. He shook his head and a beautiful smile broke out across his handsome face.

By some miracle, in a sea of strangers and enemies, Clary felt so loved and safe. It was Jace. It was always and only Jace that could have this affect on her.

"Perhaps next time, we run together." Jace whispered, his eyes darting around the crowd before resting back on her. "I've been thinking about what you said. About how this is not the life we'd imagined. Coming here...to this dimension? It makes me want to run. Far far away from our world."

"Yeah the sex on the balcony is pretty dimension shattering." Clary teased, watching his features become serious.

"You can't tell me that you don't think about it." Jace persisted, spinning her gracefully across the floor. "Just you and me in any dimension. That's all I need."

"We say that now, but we both know that we would never be truly satisfied with just each other."

Jace looked slightly shocked for a second before turning his face away and clenching his jaw. "What more could you possibly need?" he asked.

"That's not what I meant," Clary sighed, threading her hands in his hair and turning his head so they were face to face again. "I know that I was the one that said I was unhappy with our life and commitments. But I went back to the mundane world. I've lived outside the Shadoworld, I've lived without you. And I always felt there was something missing. Like something was incomplete. Even if we ran away, we'd never be truly satisfied, there would always be this void."

The corner of Jace's lip twitched as he considered her. "So we have to stay?" he drawled. "Stay and takedown another tyranny?"

Clary smiled and grazed his cheek with the tip of her nose. "That's what we have to do right? Then we can spend the rest of our lives, just you and me, in our dimension."

And then, a voice rang in the air that quieted the crowds. "Could I have your attention please?" The crowd bustled with excitement as they turned their attention towards the man standing on the stage. Clary and Jace's momentary haze was broken and they were forced to rejoin the others.

"It is time for the Clash of Gentlemen!" the man cried, punching his fist into the air as the crowd roared with excitement.

"Sexist." Isabelle muttered, as she and Alec moved to stand beside them.

"Now the roses will select our two men for tonight's battle." the man chirped, vainly trying to be heard over the crowd. "Each rose on the wall represents the loser of each battle. Now they shall select the next rose to join them on the wall."

The crowd became silent as they waited. Clary wasn't sure what they were waiting for but then she felt it. Something was moving in the ground below them, before vines sprouted at Alec's feet and an unstained rose appeared before him.

The crowd began cheering and clapping him forward. Alec shot them a disgruntled and fearful glance back as he was ushered to the stage.

"And now for the second contestant!" the man boomed as the vines began snaking along underneath them. To Clary's horror, the second set of vines burst at Jace's feet, offering him a second unstained rose. His hand was ripped from hers as the seelies hollered and pushed him to the stage, where he stood uncertainly beside Alec.

"What do you think my queen?" the man called. Clary turned and was nauseated at the sight of the Seelie Queen perched on a high throne at the center of the room. She considered Jace and Alec briefly, and for a moment Clary thought she recognized them. Then she gave a curt nod and the seelie guests erupted in drunken cries and claps.

"Nobody leaves until one of you is dead at the other's hand. The truest test to defend your manhood and status among us! Remember! Only a volunteer from the crowd can replace one of you. Since that is a rarity, at the end of this battle, one rose will be stained."

* * *

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._

Jace and Alec were handed several weapons from a box and left on the stage. The seelie crowd was going wild with excitement and Jace wanted nothing more than to impale each of them with his sword. Alec locked eyes with him and he understood immediately. They had to at least pretend to fight, and hopefully Clary and Isabelle would find a way to get them out of this mess.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation?" a stout seelie sneered from the front row of the audience. Jace shot the man a nasty look before sharing a nod with Alec. He lunged forward slowly and made an obvious move for Alec's chest. Alec's sword came out and effortlessly blocked it. He returned with a sharp kick to Jace's leg. Jace made a show of stumbling before thrusting his sword at Alec's throat.

For nearly 15 minutes they went back and forth with weak attempts to maim each other. The audience grew antsy and began throwing insults their way. Jace knew if they wanted to keep rouse they had to shed some blood. Jace inhaled sharply and moved his sword to the side to allow Alec's blade to slice deeply into his side. Blood spurted down his clothes as the crowd began whistling and hooting. Alec's eyes widened at his wound but Jace had already pounced forward and nicked Alec's calf.

"Are you gents too polite to kill?" the Seelie Queen's voice rang sweetly and innocently in the air. "Because if you are I can certainly assist you. Two stained roses are even better than one."

It was rather cute how Alec tried to gently drag his sword across Jace's shoulder. He repressed a smirk and aimed a pathetic kick to Alec's chest. Suddenly, Alec's mouth began gushing with blood from a wound Jace had not inflicted. He turned to see the Seelie Queen's hand lower from her assault as she plucked a grape from a servant. Her eyes gleamed as she plopped it into her mouth. The blood didn't seem to stop but Alec spat a mouthful onto the side of the stage and drove his sword into Jace's leg.

"Are you alright?" Jace whispered while they were close enough to speak without being overheard. Alec slowly pulled his blade from Jace's leg and he grimaced as blood drooled down the front of his shirt.

"Do I look alright?" Alec huffed retreating to spit more blood on the ground.

Jace wasn't sure how much longer they could weakly attempt to fight each other, before the Seelie Queen made the executive decision of murdering them both. If this was seelie entertainment in the Middle Ages, he wasn't sure he had the nerve to judge the Bloody Bloomers for chasing their own high.

"Cease fighting!" the announcer cried as the spotlight singled him out at the front of the crowd. "For the first time in history, we have a volunteer who wishes to replace one of our fighters."

Jace's stomach grew uneasy. She wouldn't dare...actually - knowing her, she would.

"This young lady has offered to step in for the dark haired man. Since there has never been a volunteer in our history, there are no rules to refuse a woman replacing the man."

Then the crowds parted like the Red fucking sea and Clary strode towards the stage, her mouth set in a thin line. She made a show of shaking hands with Alec before pushing him gently off the stage. She slowly turned to face Jace and a low smile spread across her face. Then without warning, she picked up Alec's fallen sword and neatly sliced down the middle of his chest.

He eyed her with anger, not for her attack, but for placing herself here on this stage. Her green eyes challenged him as she made a move toward his throat. He weakly raised his blade when they were nearly chest to chest.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled as they made a show of battling with their swords close together.

"Isabelle and Alec are going to create a distraction so we can get out of here. It's already 11:30 we have to get out." Clary breathed as she intentionally let her sword drop so Jace's blade fell neatly into her chest. He fumbled backwards, his hands shaking almost imperceptibly as he watched the blood trickle down and taint her light gown.

She flipped so she landed behind him and teasingly drew her sword across the length of his back. Several seelies were catcalling as Jace swivelled to glare at her. That little snake purposefully placed herself in the direct line of fire, used his own tricks against him and was giving these perverted bastards a show.

He could see her growing irritation as he refused to dodge any more of her assaults, allowing her to nick and cut him. But his advancements on her were always poorly aimed and misjudged, leaving her relatively unharmed. Anyone who didn't know her, wouldn't realize she wanted to cry as she stared angrily at him. _Good. _She should feel terrible about putting herself up here on this death stage.

"Fight back - " she snapped, lunging forwards so their swords clashed above their heads. He could feel her frustration reverberating off her chest as she drew back her sword and aimed it for his abdomen.

He lazily lowered his own sword, allowing it to clang unpleasantly against hers. He turned his face so the crowd couldn't see his dark expression.

"You're welcome to kill me Clarissa, but I'm not going to play any part in this joint Shakespearean style tragedy you've designed for us." he huffed, backing away. He raised his chin stubbornly at her, watching as her green eyes burned with fury.

Before either of them could catch their breath, a panicked shout echoed throughout the hall. Heads turned to face the opposite wall of the palace where La Reine de La Balle painting was. Except the painting was now splattered with food and paint, dripping down the Seelie Queen's face. Shocked gasps and discussions broke out across the hall, as the Seelie Queen's fists clenched while she surveyed the vandalized portrait.

Jace found himself being towed off the stage and pushed towards one of the side corridors on the first floor. Clary was cussing as she pulled his shirt up and pressed her stele against his iratze. Satisfied with his closing wounds, she moved the stele to her own rune.

"I can't believe you, we are not finished talking about this - " Jace warned. Clary's blatant lack of consideration for her reckless decisions was infuriating.

"It's funny how this conversation seems to reappear every time I save your ass." Clary snapped, tying her hair up in a messy knot. "Alec and Isabelle should be meeting us here."

"Clever distraction." Jace quipped as they the rounded to corner to meet them. Alec's bow hung low at his side, stained with the fruit he'd just fired at the painting.

"All the exits have been blocked off," Isabelle said, reaching back to tie her hair up. "They want to catch the culprits of the vandalism so we're going to have to break out. It's almost 12am, let's try the second floor."

They hurried along the dimly lit hallway before dashing up the long, spiraled staircase. Isabelle gasped as there was a loud thud. Jace reached the second set of stairs when he realized they'd been surrounded by a group of 8 seelie guards. One had Isabelle against the wall, his sword teasing her neck.

"Do we have some Shadowhunters in our midst?" he drawled, roughly tugging her dress to the side to expose her runes. "Well the queen would love to see this."

Jace could see Alec's back muscles ripple and he prepared himself to follow Alec's lead. When Alec's tall frame raised the bow towards a group of soldiers, Jace spun and nailed one of the guards in the chest. He barely flinched as he charged Jace with his spear. Jace sidestepped the guard, his blood singing with the adrenaline of a real fight in which he could actually kill. He jumped into the air and landed softly behind the seelie. He kneeled down on one knee and drove the seraph blade into the center of the man's chest. As he toppled over, Jace saw Isabelle and Alec finishing off one last guard as Clary pulled her bloody daggers from another.

There were low voices at the bottom of the staircase and the four of them stilled as they strained to listen. Clary's face paled as she mouthed _Gorman_ to the others. Wordlessly, she led the way up the stairs and down a corridor on the second floor. The sound of footsteps from behind them were becoming louder. Clary stopped suddenly and Jace nearly crashed into her.

"What are you doing?" his breaths came out rugged as he stared at her in confusion while she used her dagger to hack off some of the long material of her dress that obstructed her movement. She began scaling the post near the balcony they'd previously visited for a quickie and pulled herself onto the ledge before merging in with the shadows. They followed her up the post, Isabelle bringing up the rear with her own shortened gown.

They pressed themselves close against the wall, hoping the shadows protected them from being seen as a group of seelie soldiers lead by Gorman sprinted past them. Jace's heart was beating fast in his chest as he relinquished his hold on Clary.

"Look," he murmured to the others nodding towards the opposite balcony. There were massive windows lining the front entrance behind the balcony. The only thing between them was the huge ballroom of the palace. "Alec tie some rope to your arrows."

Alec pulled his rope from his holster and secured it around his arrow. Jace nodded up towards the chandeliers and a crooked grin graced his face.

"Fire away," he encouraged backing away as Alec raised his bow and aimed for the chandelier.

"This is insane," Alec grumbled. "You're planning on swinging over to the other balcony, completely exposing yourself to the ballroom - "

"An empty ballroom," Jace corrected as he stretched his back muscles. "Unless you can suggest a faster way, cover me - " he said, before sprinting off the edge of the ledge and grasping the rope between his fingers. Jace's eyes scanned the ballroom for signs of attack but there were none. As he neared the opposite balcony, Jace released the rope and landed gracefully on the other side. He supposed this was the part of his life he couldn't live without. Clary was right. Of course she was right. Jace couldn't imagine a life without ball crashing, demon slaying and chandelier swinging.

He held his seraph blade in front of him, scoping the area for unexpected seelies as Alec fired three more ropes and they joined him on the other side.

"We have under ten minutes," Isabelle groaned, flexing her whip as she eyed the glass window. "Do we feel bold enough to smash the window and make a break for it?"

"We might not have a choice…" Clary replied peering over the banister of the balcony.

Below them were nearly 20 guards shining their flashlights into the darkness. Within seconds, they would be exposed. Isabelle lengthened her whip and raised her arm to strike the glass pane. It shattered with a piercing shriek before crumbling to the ground like rain. There were shouts from the bottom floor as footsteps thundered towards them. Alec hopped up onto the window sill and turned back to face them with a grim expression.  
"I hope you all know how to ride horseback." he called before leaping off the edge. Jace was the last one out the window, rolling to his feet on the baby grass. Alec tossed him the reigns to the last dark horse on the cobbled street. He hoisted himself onto the back of the horse, hearing disgruntled cries from the window.

"The culprits! They're escaping!" a voice hollered, before a rain of spears came flying towards them. Isabelle led the four of them as they rode down the street. Jace brought up the rear, turned and glanced behind him. There were a group of soldiers giving chase, but the lighthouse was within sight, they were close - time was also cutting too close.

The light from the pale crescent moon glinted off of Isabelle's dark mane as they reached the sandy shores leading to the lighthouse. Either the seelies would catch up to them, or time would. The horses moved slower over the sandy surface and Jace felt increasingly anxious. Would going on foot be better?

As fast and silent as a gunshot, a spear sliced through the air and pierced Isabelle's horse. It reared with pain, moving even more sluggishly through the sand. Another spear impaled the horse's neck and Alec rode faster to pull Isabelle onto the back of his steed, leaving the poor animal to fall in a heap.

Jace's hair whipped wildly in the wind, his heart hammering against his chest as he dared to turn backwards. A lone seelie was inching ahead of their group and was drawing his arm back. Before Jace could scream, the spear flew forwards and struck Clary in the back. Like a ragdoll, she fell limp off of the back of her horse, the creature continuing onwards, nearly trampling her in its haste.

Jace hadn't realized he was no longer on his horse, as he leaped off of its back to reach Clary. Her dress was soaked in fresh blood, her eyes fluttering as she yanked the spear out of her back. Her breathing was laboured and Jace could see Alec and Isabelle falter in the distance.

"Keep going, get to the portal!" he yelled, waving them onwards as he scooped Clary into his arms. He began running against the drag of the sand. He would never outrun the seelie horses coming from behind -

"Jace - go...they'll think I'm dead, I'll be fine - " Clary whispered in a raspy voice, as she gripped the front of his shirt.

"Like hell," he snarled, ignoring her pleading eyes that were desperately trying to get through to him. How could she expect him to leave her? Did the blood loss make her forget who he was?

"I can't find my stele - " Clary breathed, turning fearfully in his arms to peer behind him. "_Jace please,_" Clary persisted, trying to wrench herself out of his grip. He tightened his hold around her and hurtled on forwards, drowning out her threats and cusses.

Then he was launched off his feet as a rope entangled itself around them. He turned to see the lone seelie grinning victoriously as his lasso succeeded in knocking them over. Jace did his best to land on his back, with Clary on top so her wounds wouldn't be covered in sand.

"Jace you bloody moron, you can still run - " Clary wheezed, pressing her palm against her gaping wound, blood seeping in between her fingers.

"Shut up," he groaned, freeing his feet of the rope as he stood up and leaned Clary's small frame against him. The remaining seelies caught up to the lone ranger and they surrounded them in a tight knit circle, each smirking wickedly at the pathetic pair in the center.

Jace glared venomously back at them, groping for his stele - fuck - he must have dropped it. Clary was losing consciousness as she pressed her body against his. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held his other hand against her wound.

Somewhere in the distance, Jace heard the Big Ben strike midnight.

Author's Note

Thank you for sticking with me! Hope you enjoyed :)


	7. Chapter Seven: Murder in the Air

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, _

"_I had to do a bit of research to find out which one had weapons that partially matched the murder and torture weapons of the bodies. The dimension had to have a staff or sharp stick that was capable of burning, serrated knives and thick, rough rope, amongst others. Turns out it's the Middle Ages when England was experiencing the Protestant reformation." Aline continued_

_When Clary had been attacked in the alley, she had managed to pull the gloves off of her attacker and had seen the same 4 triangular brass knuckle rings. Had she just danced with her assailant? With the leader of the Shadowhunter kidnappings? Gorman..._

_A lone seelie was inching ahead of their group and was drawing his arm back. Before Jace could scream, the spear flew forwards and struck Clary in the back._

"_Jace you bloody moron, you can still run - " Clary wheezed, pressing her palm against her gaping wound, blood seeping in between her fingers. _

"_Shut up," he groaned, freeing his feet of the rope as he stood up and leaned Clary's small frame against him. The remaining seelies caught up to the lone ranger and they surrounded them in a tight knit circle, each smirking wickedly at the pathetic pair in the center._

* * *

"An American delegate was it?" Gorman asked with false sincerity. "Perhaps you meant an unwelcomed American intruder?"

Clary's heart thud in sharp bursts against her chest as she felt blood from her wound trickle down to her bound wrists. Her arms were pinned tightly behind her back, grating against her open injury. She was back to back with Jace as they sat like ducks at the center of the empty ballroom.

Another guard moved closer to Gorman to whisper a message. Jace took the opportunity to grapple for her fingers. His hands were warm against her cool skin, slick with blood.

"It appears the queen was forced to return to the real time dimension," Gorman said grimly, circling them like a predator. "No matter - we shall secure you both for safekeeping till she returns. Until then, we'll chat, shall we?"

"Can you please just give her some seelie magic to heal the wound? Or at least slow the bleeding - " Jace's voice cracked as he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Let's start with the injured one." Gorman said derisively. "Take the other one to the basement."

Clary's vision was falling in and out of focus but she could hear Jace's furious protests as they hauled him off to the basement of this damned palace. Then, it was as if an iron wrench had been pressed into her exposed flesh. Searing hot, blinding pain shot up every nerve ending in her body. Her screams echoed around the drafty room, as she opened her eyes to see Gorman's talon like fingers retract from her back.

Sweat trailed down the sides of her neck as she struggled to maintain a straight composure.

"There is more where that came from. Unless you choose to cooperate and answer truthfully." Gorman said dryly, as he flicked her blood off his finger and continued circling around her. "What is the New York Institute plotting?"

Clary stared stonily at his tall form as he narrowed his eyes at her with annoyance. She could smell the iron tang of her blood as it began pooling around her. She wouldn't stay conscious much longer at this rate.

"Did falling off the horse impair your hearing?" he asked snidely, stopping abruptly to crouch in front of her. "What is the New York Institute plotting?"

When she remained silent, Gorman's hand dug painfully into her wound, his nails grating against her tender flesh. "Where is Jonathan Morgenstern's body?" he demanded, shaking her roughly by the shoulders.

White hot agony was coursing in her veins as her wrists vainly attempted to wrench apart from the rough rope. She wasn't sure how long she endured this back and forth, question and screaming, pattern.

The next thing she felt was the cool floor of the basement kissing her back. Jace's frantic voice came into focus as arms helped her up.

"Clary! Look we have to go - " Jace whispered. Clary felt her vision and clarity slip back into place as she grasped his arm and allowed him to pull her up. It took a moment for her to comprehend their surroundings. They were in a dark, shabby cellar in the basement and there was a seelie guard standing at the door. Except it wasn't.

"Meliorn? What - how did you get here?" Clary said, brushing her fingers against her healed back. Jace waved the stele at her dazed face before pocketing it.

"We can explain later, we have to go." Jace urged, pushing her to the door as they ran after Meliorn. He was dressed in the same attire that the other seelie guards from this dimension wore. He blended in perfectly.

They wound their way through dozens of deserted hallways. Meliorn seemed to know where he was going but Clary soon became disoriented by their constant turning and retracing.

Meliorn finally stopped at the end of the hallway and began climbing a ladder boarded against the wall. He reached the top and slammed his fist into a hatch that opened to expose the early sun rise rays. Clary and Jace followed quickly after him. Meliorn had already mounted himself on top of a hazy white horse and beckoned for them to join him.

Jace eyed him wearily and offered Clary a boot up so she could climb up behind Meliorn. Once they were all settled, Meliorn began riding towards the lighthouse. Clary nestled herself against Jace's back and watched the burst of citrus colors streak against the pale sky as they rode away from the cursed palace.

* * *

"We're being picked off like flies." Alec grumbled, surveying the crime scene as he pursed his lips with indignation. "And of course you decide to play chivalrous hero and galavant off into seelie territory."

"What? You wanted me to leave Clary?" Jace snarked, watching as Clary and Isabelle knelt beside the corpse.

"No of course not," Alec sighed, rubbing his stubble tiredly. "But you shouldn't have separated the group. You and I both know we could have taken them down - "

"No, I don't know that we could have taken them down. At least you and Isabelle were able to reach the portal so you could send Meliorn after us - bold move by the way. Trusting him with our lives." Jace quipped, shining his flashlight over the blood stained grass of Central Park.

"Isabelle was confident he had the best chance of rescuing you guys." Alec protested, waving over some other Shadowhunters to take samples of the grass. "Besides, you're both alive aren't you?"

Jace rolled his eyes and reached his hand up to clap Alec behind his neck. "You're buying me lunch."

"He can buy us all lunch," Simon corrected, sauntering up to join them. "The dead angel blood odour from the body is pungent. Could attract other animals you know - "

"Who invited him?" Alec called, glaring accusingly at Clary and Isabelle as they stripped off their examination gloves and moved to join them.

"He's a vampire," Isabelle chided, linking arms with Simon in a cheesy way that made Jace want to hurl. "He could probably smell the blood from miles away."

"Can we find food? I'm starving." Clary interrupted, clearly trying to disperse the tension.

"Well apparently I'm buying, so pick wisely little girl." Alec drawled.

A quarter of an hour later, the 5 of them were settled in a tiny booth at the back of Hunter's Moon. Jace was uncomfortably sandwiched between Clary and Isabelle. Both of whom were savagely attacking their meals and periodically swiping pieces of food from his plate.

"Are we still getting bad press from Annamarie Highsmith's murder?" Simon asked, as he slurped down his blood spiked milkshake.

"They like attacking us for our lack of action and progress on the Shadowhunter kidnappings and murders." Isabelle replied. "But I think it's more for scapegoat purposes so the people have someone to blame in this crisis. Alec has already given several interviews advising Shadowhunters and other institutes to remain vigilant but it's not enough to appease the people."

"Look at you," Jace teased as he leaned back in his seat. "You sound like every politician who expertly feeds us bullshit."

"Well things are going to get more political." Isabelle said darkly. "The New York Institute has been asked to host the Inter-Institute Ball. It comes around almost every 3 years and notable leaders from all the institutes gather to strengthen alliances and share techniques and crap. It's a whole politics rager. The most recent ones were cancelled due to our waging war with either Valentine or Jonathan. So that means I need all of you to work double time to help prepare for this. I will not be the head of the institute that throws a lame ball - "

"Isabelle." Jace interrupted. "We're all already working triple time to catch these serial killers. You want us to plan a party too? Didn't we just escape a very eccentric ball? And now you want to plan _another _one - "

"Well then I suppose you're going to be working quadruple time. We're having this ball Jace." Isabelle said curtly. "It's not up for debate."

* * *

"I can't believe her." Jace huffed. He stood grumpily by a post in the weapons room, lazily checking off items as Clary sorted them. "Is a party really necessary right now? I'm up for a week of partying once we catch these guys."

"She doesn't really have a choice does she?" Clary offered, tossing some broken arrows into the disposal bin. "If the Clave has asked her to host this Inter-Institute ball, she can't really say no. And it's all politics right, I mean the whole purpose is to unite the institutes and motivate them to stand in solidarity against common enemies."

"Well I don't feel like socializing with a bunch of arrogant, over confident Shadowhunters, trying to claw their way up the Clave hierarchy." Jace sulked, watching Clary shelve the last seraph blade. Inventory was boring as hell. He'd been assigned this mundane task but refused to do it alone. He'd bribed Underhill with 2 patrol coverages to let Clary ditch the one she was scheduled for now. Underhill's patrols were with Clary anyways, but he didn't have to know that.

"You are an arrogant, over confident Shadowhunter trying to claw your way up the Clave hierarchy." Clary laughed, pulling the clipboard out of his hands and scanning it over herself.

Before Jace could respond with a snarky comment, a loud alarm began blaring throughout the hallowed walls of the Institute. Clary dropped the clipboard with surprise and Jace grasped her arms, towing her for the stairs.

"What's going on?" she asked, as Jace clapped a hand over her nose and mouth. Her small hands tried to pry his hand away, but he kept a firm grip over her face. He forced them both to duck low as they stormed down an emergency staircase at the end of the hall. Others streamed from different rooms as they all hurried down the steps.

"Fucking hell Clary - " Jace cussed, removing his hand from her mouth but keeping his other hand tightly wrapped around hers. "Did you have to bite me?"

"What's happening Jace - "

"By the angel woman, can't you see everyone else silently sprinting down these stairs? Trust me, duck your head low and keep moving." Jace said with exasperation. May the angel grant him the patience to save Clary from her own damn self.

They reached the bottom of the staircase that led to a hold and secure chamber. It was off to the right of the cell they'd held Jonathan in. There were at least 50 Shadowhunters cramming into various rooms within the chamber, sealing off doors as they ushered people in. Jace spotted Alec and Magnus at the center, directing Shadowhunters and handing out packages of emergency food.

The hold and secure chamber was a large square space, filled with glass paned rooms. Shadowhunters were meant to file into any of these rooms during these emergencies. Each room had several beds, toilet stalls, weapons and steles. In each glass room, a Shadowhunter was supposed to take attendance and report it to the system.

"Someone tell me what's going on." Clary insisted, grabbing some packages from Magnus and handing them out to the frantic Shadowhunters.

"The autopsy was being performed on the victim we found earlier. When they cut into his body, a foreign gas began seeping out. It killed anyone who was in the room and anyone who inhaled it." Magnus explained, flicking his wrist to summon a pile of blankets from the emergency storage room on their left. "It's spreading throughout the Institute."

"Is everyone accounted for?" Jace asked, skidding to a stop in front of them.

"Raj?" Alec asked, turning to face the man. Raj was sweating buckets, rattling off names from his headset as he attempted to enter everything into a digital notepad.

"We identified 8 Shadowhunters killed upon inhalation. Everyone else is here except Isabelle and Simon." Raj replied, paling as he turned to glance up at the others.

"Who was performing the autopsy?" Clary asked, an uneasy expression spreading across her face.

"Isabelle." Raj said distractedly before returning to his headset conversations.

Jace hadn't realized that he'd stormed back up the staircase. He snagged three face masks from the storage room, strapping one over his own face and pocketing the other two. He heard Clary's footsteps attempting to follow him but she was reeled back by Alec or Magnus, he wasn't sure.

Jace tore through the empty halls of the institute. The gas was an opaque, translucent shade that trickled stealthily in the air. Jace shuddered when it embraced his body, as he combed through the eerily silent institute.

After searching the training room, ops center, weapons room he spotted two figures awkwardly huddled on the staircase. He bolted over to them and was relieved to see Simon's hand covering Isabelle's mouth as they shimmied down the stairs. He'd never felt so gleeful to see the mundane.

"Jace! Good God I'm glad to see you - " Simon exclaimed, evidently unconcerned about his own lack of face protection.

Jace didn't bother exchanging pleasantries and neatly slid the mask over Isabelle's face. Her eyes were fluttering open and shut and her breathing was shallow, but she seemed otherwise unharmed. Together, Simon and Jace helped Isabelle race towards the doors to the hold and secure chamber. Jace wrenched open the air tight door leading to the chamber and Alec was waiting at the top of the staircase, wearing his own face mask. He waved them in quickly and slammed the door shut.

"Jace you colossal idiot - " Alec raged, leading them down the stairs. "We have protocols for missing persons. There are far more trained Shadowhunters to go and perform a search and rescue, it is _not your job _to play hero and behave so recklessly - "

"Geeze Alec I'm glad Izzy's okay too." Jace rolled his eyes and threw his mask at the back of Alec's head. When they reached the hold and secure chamber, Jace instantly saw Clary arguing with Magnus and Raj. She'd seen them too and she promptly stomped over, a towering look in her eyes. If Jace had thought Alec's lecture was tiresome, he would be murdered by Clary's.

"Speak." Clary said forcefully. She brushed by Jace without a single glance and moved to help support Isabelle.

"Isabelle was cutting into the body, then the gas leaked out. I knew something was wrong, I have a very good sense of smell, and from the moment I smelt the body in Central Park, I knew there was something off about it. So as soon as she made the cut, I could tell the gas was poisonous or toxic at least. So I barreled into her, knocked her to the ground and clapped by hand over her face. She wasn't too happy about it but right after that, everyone in the room began sputtering and seizuring before falling to the floor." Simon rambled, as he and Clary helped Isabelle into a less crowded glass room.

"The alarms sounded and I was going to follow the others but Isabelle kept dragging me the other way. When she led us to the kitchen, I realized she wanted to grab some fresh blood for me. That's why we were so delayed. I guess this wickedly cool underground Shadowhunter dungeon wasn't equipped to supply fresh blood." Simon sighed, laying Isabelle down as Helen rushed over to treat her.

"Is everyone accounted for? Besides the individuals who were killed upon inhalation?" Alec repeated into his own headset. After a brief moment, Alec motioned for a group of hazmat clad Shadowhunters to seal off the doors at the top of the staircase. "Do you realize what this means?"

Clary sat with her back leaning against the wall beside Isabelle's cot. She looked up to where Magnus, Jace, Alec and Simon stood with a tired expression on her face.

"Someone just tried to kill us."

* * *

"Review every single piece of security footage. And keep this quiet, I don't know what we could tell the entire Institute without giving everything away." Alec said frustratedly, running a hand through his hair.

They had apologetically asked the majority of the Shadowhunters in their glass room to wait in other glass rooms as only essential high clearance members would be sorting things out here. The only individuals in this glass prison were Jace, Clary, Alec, Magnus, Simon, Isabelle, Helen and Aline.

"We have a traitor inside, there's no other explanation." Magnus insisted, brandishing his hand as he magicked up a large table full of fine dining meals in each glass room that was much more favorable than the dried salami and crackers in the emergency kits.

"Or a seelie could have snuck in," Simon offered, sitting at the end of Isabelle's cot.

Jace was sitting on the floor, scrolling through the security footage with Alec. A growing pit of unease was spreading in his gut. A traitor? Another Hodgins?

"How could they get past the wards?" Alec snapped, grabbing a handful of tortilla chips from Magnus' table and stuffing them into his mouth. "Only Meliorn was granted special access. Besides, we'd see it on the security footage. Since nothing's been deleted, no wards have been set off, it means we have a traitor in the Institute."

"An outsider seelie could have entered the Institute if someone on the inside lowered the wards for them." Aline said, glancing awkwardly at Isabelle. An awkward silence filled the tense room as all eyes either stared or averted Isabelle's.

"It was not Meliorn." Isabelle replied angrily. "How can you all be so prejudiced and biased like our parents! Jace and Clary, he risked his life to save your asses in the other dimension!"

"It's not prejudice Isabelle," Jace argued defensively, leaning his head against the cool wall. "Meliorn is a very optimal suspect. Especially given his two faced nature and relationship with the Seelie Queen."

"I can't believe you all." Isabelle scowled, turning on her side so that her back was facing them.

Alec sighed and sat down beside Jace. "Give me the footage, I need something to do before I go insane."

Jace handed off the laptop to Alec without a complaint, shooting Magnus a "He's your problem" look before seeking out Clary in the cramped room. It had only been about 6 hours in this glass prison but Jace was growing incredibly antsy.

He moved to sit beside Clary who was perched on the floor at the foot of Isabelle's cot. But didn't touch her. He was trying to gage how furious she was at the moment. Her hair was knotted messily at the top of her head and she was flipping through a heap of paperwork on the ground.

"Do you think we have a traitor in the Institute?" Jace asked cautiously. She hadn't looked at him yet and was apparently very engrossed in the patrol schedule.

"Now you care what I think?" Clary snipped, licking her thumb to turn the page.

"Oh come on, don't be like that - "

"What? Pissed? I'll be pissed at you if I wanna be pissed." she said dryly, throwing a folder rather aggressively in a pile to her left.

"Look I know running back was stupid but we're fine, and we're going to be stuck in here together for a while, so you might as well skip the theatrics and forgive me now." Jace said softly, breaking his own self restraint and leaning into her soft body. She didn't say anything but didn't push him away either.

"What are you working on?" he asked, watching as she pushed a strand of loose hair away from her face in annoyance. If there was nothing else to do in this forsaken prison then he was quite satisfied just watching her.

"I'm trying to figure out who was on patrol during the autopsy and who was not. Then I'm also trying to fold invites for the Inter-Institute ball, in addition to all this other administrative crap that Isabelle's doling out." she grumbled before finally turning to look at him. "I'll forgive you on one condition."

"Anything," he murmured, pressing his lips against her temple.

"Plan the Inter-Institute ball." she said simply, turning her head to look at him.

"Hell no." Jace protested, eyeing the sheafs of paperwork stacked around them.

"You said you'd do anything." Clary reminded, a playful smile spreading across her face. "Besides, it'll really lighten my workload if you take this off my hands. Isabelle was delegating this ball and a lot of other administrative tasks to me and I'd really, _really _love if you did this for me." she said, pressing herself closer to him. Damn she was good.

"And now you're delegating it to me." he grumbled, sitting up and pulling her so she lay half on top of him. She shrieked as a pile of papers crashed to the floor.

"You can also re-organize that pile you just messed up." Clary huffed, resting her head against his chest.

Only Clary Farichild could convince Jace Herondale to organize a ball and clean up.

* * *

"The real question is; should we make an announcement to the Institute?" Isabelle repeated, scooping some soup into her mouth as she sat propped up with pillows on her cot. "Any announcement or interrogation of anyone at the Institute could alert the real traitor that we're on to them."

"But if we keep it to ourselves, we risk the safety of the other Shadowhunters and allow them to form their own conclusions. Not to mention, they could be carelessly and unknowingly feeding information to the traitor." Aline countered.

There always seemed to be this amusing political back and forth between Aline and Isabelle. As rival cousins they were also both contending for leadership roles within the Clave, as both their parents came from respectable positions. Clary thought it was like watching a Republican and a Democratic.

It was nearly midnight and the lights were dim, while the members of their glass room were wide awake and discussing a plan. Clary was easily bored by the political and clerical discussions but forced herself to remain awake and participate.

"We just got word that the Clave sent a team to clear our Institute an hour ago. Hopefully, we'll return to normal routine in another 24 hours or so." Alec interrupted, flopping down back onto the floor beside Helen as they continued tracking the security footage.

"Let's vote," Isabelle yawned. She crossed her legs and straightened her back in an attempt to appear more professional. "All in favor of keeping this between essential personnel only?"

Clary, Jace, Alec, Magnus and Isabelle raised their hands, ending the debate for the evening.

"I'll take the first patrol." Jace offered, scooting out from under the blanket he and Clary had been tucked under, in their makeshift bed on the floor.

Clary dozed off and was only awoken again by the sounds of bickering and the fresh smell of crispy, fried bacon. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and propped herself up on the hard floor, trying not to picture how uncleanly her hair looked. Magnus appeared in front of her waving a cup like a madman.

"Coffee? Take a coffee." Magnus prompted, jerking the coffee into her hands before turning back to attend to his lavish underground buffet service in all the glass rooms. Clary turned to witness Alec and Isabelle arguing heatedly on their feet, in front of her cot.

"Isabelle you need to put the safety of your people first and just talk to him! There is no harm in asking him! We're all stuck here for at least another 10 hours, you might as well chat with him!" Alec glowered down at his sister.

"For someone who is _married _to a downworlder, you sure have a very prejudiced opinion towards seelies!" Isabelle snapped. It was clear that was the absolute wrong thing to say.

"How can you say that!" Alec shouted, shaking his head with disbelief. "I'm not telling you to arrest him for treason, I'm telling you it is logical and smart to just ask him! As a leader of the Institute, you have to get over your personal feelings and put the needs of the people first - "

"Oh and now I'm a shitty leader? I am not a lesser leader than you for placing faith in a good man. Unlike you, I don't immediately assume the worst of people." Isabelle said harshly.

Clary stood up and moved to perch on the cot beside Simon who was worriedly watching the argument unfold. She sipped her coffee and nudged him on the shoulder.

"How long have they been fighting?" Clary asked, her eyes darting between the furious siblings.

"At least 30 minutes." Simon muttered, his fanged tooth biting on his lip. "This is what happens when you force two Lightwood siblings in a room together for an overly extended period of time."

"Well if you won't talk to Meliorn I will." Alec said decidedly, moving to the closed glass door.

"I am the head of this Institute, he is under my protection and you will not go accusing him of things while he's surrounded by paranoid Shadowhunters!" Isabelle growled, yanking Alec roughly away from the door.

"I can hear you two from the other end of this chamber." Jace drawled, pushing the glass door open and closing it firmly behind him. "Get a grip, you're scaring some of the younger kids."

"Enter the third Lightwood sibling." Simon whispered under his breath. Clary giggled as she watched Alec and Isabelle retreat, sullen faced, to opposite ends of the small room.

"You patrolled the morning shift too?" Clary asked critically, watching Jace trudge into the room, swiping a bowl of fruit from the overflowing table of food.

"I wasn't tired." Jace shrugged, falling into the heap of pillows and blankets on the floor where she had slept last night. Did he even sleep?

Clary knelt down beside him and offered him the coffee, sneaking some grapes from his bowl. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he said, gulping down a steaming sip of Magnus' strong coffee. He wrinkled his nose and glanced up to see Clary still staring at him. He sighed and pulled her down beside him. "It just bothers me."

"Being cooped up down here, yeah I think it's having a very negative effect on everyone." Clary replied, nodding to the sulky Lightwood siblings.

"It really bothers me that there could be a traitor." Jace said, turning to meet her eyes. "Hodgins being a traitor really challenged my entire perception of the Shadowhunter values of integrity, honesty and loyalty. Now that there could be another Hodgins? It's just breaking every single moral code I ever had."

Clary remained silent and stared tiredly at the wall opposite them.

"What's even more frustrating is that he's probably right here. In this chamber, sitting, chatting, playing all of us. And he's probably having a laugh, seeing all of us go mad trying to figure it out." Jace continued, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Did you see anyone behaving strangely during patrol?" Clary asked, resting her cheek against her knees so she could study him properly. His hair was completely disheveled, a distinct stubble overlining his jaw and his eyes had shadows beneath them. His youthful face was tainted by stress and exhaustion that saddened her.

"Nothing unusual, unless you can count Raj stealing a blanket from one of the younger kids." Jace replied, chewing his strawberry slowly. "I have a very dark and unfriendly urge to smash all the glass in here."

Clary surprised herself by laughing, drawing out a smile that turned into a low rumbling laugh from Jace too. The next few hours were long and boring, Jace was growing restless by the minute and Clary distracted them both the best she could with the paperwork Isabelle had delegated and periodic kisses to keep their morale boosted. Jace was still appalled at the prospect of having the responsibility for planning a ball, an opinion he frequently and very vocally voiced to everyone in their glass room.

"Look what I found." Isabelle said with great contempt. She threw a book at Jace, which he swiftly caught and smirked at. "Now entertain yourself in _silence._"

"A Tale of Two Cities." Jace grinned at Clary. She was pulled down beside him so that her leg was draped over his and he pulled the blanket over them. He roughly shoved some of the paperwork aside much to Clary's displeasure.

"Jace that was arranged in alpha order!" she whined, reaching for her fallen masterpiece. He reeled her back in and began to read aloud from the novel. Clary huffed and settled herself against his chest, allowing the sound of Jace's voice to bring her some comfort.

Amidst the chaos of the past 44 hours, there was something simple and uncomplicated about their tiny little glass room habitation. Magnus and Alec were scrutinizing the security footage, coming up empty handed each time. Isabelle, Simon, Aline and Helen were engrossed in a passionate game of cards. Clary and Jace were seated on the floor, with a book and blanket between them. In another life, this would be completely normal.

"Do you think we can handle eating together?" Magnus asked uncertainly, staring pointedly at Isabelle and Alec. They nodded without looking at each other. Magnus flicked his hand and the tables in each glass room were stocked with steaming salmon dishes, roast beef, cheese platters, garlic bread, french onion soup, shrimp cocktails, quiche and an assortment of desserts.

"As soon as the Clave team arrives and clears this place, I'm going to go with them and the body to Idris to perform the autopsy." Isabelle announced, scooping a large piece of salmon.

"We should also arrange a funeral for the eight Shadowhunters killed during the gas leak." Jace said, creating an ominous silence around the table.

"I can start arranging that." Magnus agreed, shooting Alec furtive glances.

"Clary and Jace you're in charge until I get back." Isabelle added, glancing out the glass room. "And don't let Raj organize the patrol schedule, he always gives himself the better shifts and leaves the nights or early birds for the newbies."

"I will make an official statement to the Institute that the source of the gas leak remains unknown." Alec said, staring at his plate. "Of course the Idris Insider paper is going to be pressing me for details and suspects."

"And Jace don't forget to place an order for the flowers and music by tomorrow night. It's around the Spring season and the bookings start going up. And don't forget to send out invites by the end of the week, I can't stand hearing the Italian Institute or the Korean Institute bashing us for poor communication and planning. They're renown for their outstanding balls." Isabelle said, kicking Jace under the table. "Should I write this down before I leave? Jace you better be listening - "

"By the angel Izzy, let me eat without thinking about color schematics and crap." Jace grumbled, shovelling a large spoonful of shrimp into his mouth and glaring at her.

"I didn't mention color schematics yet but now that you've brought it up - "

"The Clave's here to save us from the two of you." Alec said standing up abruptly and darting out from their glass room. Clary turned to see a group of Clave Shadowhunters descending the staircase, unstrapping their hazmat suits and eyeing them all disdainfully.

"Essential personnel, we're going to scope out the Institute, check for anything the traitor left behind and then we'll slowly allow the rest of the Shadowhunters to return to their rooms." Alec called to them.

They filed out of the chamber, Jace seemed to have a hop in his step as they emerged into the main level of the Institute. Clary took a cautious breath of air and drank in the surroundings. Nothing appeared out of place, there were some tables and papers knocked over here and there but most things seemed undisturbed.

Clary followed Isabelle into the autopsy room and stopped beside her near the entrance. There were eight fellow Shadowhunters strewn dead across the room. The body that contained the poisonous gas lay innocently on the table. Isabelle grasped Clary's hand and they approached the ghostly body.

"The organs are gone." Isabelle whispered, turning to stare at Clary. "Someone...someone must have been in here while we were downstairs and stolen the organs…"

"A downworlder," Clary murmured, glancing fearfully at Isabelle. "It was probably a downworlder. How this downworlder got in could still have something to do with one of us but whoever took the organs was a downworlder. Simon - he's a vampire and the gas didn't have an affect on him, Isabelle, I'm sorry but you're going to have to talk to Meliorn...the thief had to be a downworlder."

* * *

"Magnus said the funeral will start in 30 minutes." Clary said, moving to hold Jace's arm as he stood in front of the mirror. She reached up to adjust his white collared shirt and gripped his hand tightly. "There's two siblings who became orphans from the gas leak. I told Isabelle we'd bring them to the funeral. Both their parents were helping her during the autopsy." Clary trailed off, her lower lip trembling as she wiped her tears off against his shoulder.

"What are their names?" Jace asked, resting his head against hers as he stared at their reflection in the mirror. He'd never hated the color white so fiercely.

"Lillian and James Dunce. They're 4 and 5 years old, I don't think they can even properly understand what's happening." Clary sniffled, righting herself and wiping her face hastily. She pulled him towards the door of their room and they walked silently down the hall. She stopped at a door a few corridors from theirs and knocked.

Clary pushed open the door and Jace followed her inside. He was startled to see how small the kids were as they sat perched on the edge of a bed much too large for their size. The girl was wearing a puffy white dress and was playing with a little toy seraph blade. Her brother was in a tiny white suit, his bow tie slightly crooked and his glasses skewed on his face as he watched his sister.

"Hi Lillian, James…" Clary started awkwardly, unsure of whether or not to approach them. "I'm Clary and this is Jace, we're going to bring you to...erm…"

"A funeral." Jace finished, trying to ignore Clary's alarmed stare. He wasn't sure why he had stated this so directly to a pair of children, but if he were a child, he would want to know the truth. And there was no amount of adult paraphrasing that could change the reality of the situation.

"What's a funeral?" James asked, staring up wide eyed and curious at Clary and Jace.

"It's a ceremony where you say goodbye to someone." Clary winced as she knelt down beside the bed.

"Why do you have to say goodbye?" Lillian asked, hugging her toy seraph blade against her chest. Clary looked completely at a loss for words as she turned to glance at Jace.

"It's like saying see you later." Jace said, sounding incredibly raspy. "Someone has left and you're saying see you later."  
"But where'd they go?" James asked, his earthy green eyes piercing into Jace. Fuck why were these kids so damn smart?

"Have you heard the stories of Jonathan Morgenstern and his angels?" Jace asked, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. The kids nodded, completely in awe of whatever crap was pouring out of his mouth. "Well we say goodbye - or see you later - to someone who's with the angels now…"

"And our parents are with the angels now?" Lillian asked without a trace of sadness in her sweet voice. Clary looked completely crest fallen as she nodded at the naive children. She offered a hand to the little girl, who accepted it and hopped down from the bed. The boy wordlessly leaped off the tall bed and grabbed Jace's calloused hand.

Jace felt as if his fist was lodged in the back of his throat as he walked with the boy down the corridor and towards the gathering hall. The boy's small, unmarred hand was wrapped tightly around his scarred and rough hand, and it was enough to make Jace's chest twinge painfully.

Clary led the way to the front row. Heads turned and smiled sympathetically at them as they walked down the aisle. Jace wasn't sure why their smiles and pitying waves were so infuriating to him. He clenched his jaw and stared fixedly at the stained glass window at the front.

Clary sat at the end of the row with Lillian and James in between them as the Silent Brother began the ceremony.

Jace was barely listening to the familiar words being said as his eyes began roving over the Shadowhunters in attendance. It sickened him to scour over each of their faces, all seeming completely sorrowful and remorseful as they bowed their heads in respect.

Someone in this room had partaken in the kidnap, torture and murder of their people. Someone in this room had murdered James and Lillian's parents and Jace was dead certain he'd give his life to catch them.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! I've written ahead so updates will be a little more frequent :) Stay safe everyone, let me know your thoughts on the chapter.


	8. Chapter Eight: Hallowed Halls

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, _

_Before Jace could respond with a snarky comment, a loud alarm began blaring throughout the hallowed walls of the Institute. _

_The hold and secure chamber was a large square space, filled with glass paned rooms. Shadowhunters were meant to file into any of these rooms during these emergencies._

"_Isabelle was cutting into the body, then the gas leaked out. I knew something was wrong, I have a very good sense of smell, and from the moment I smelt the body in Central Park, I knew there was something off about it. So as soon as she made the cut, I could tell the gas was poisonous or toxic at least. So I barreled into her, knocked her to the ground and clapped by hand over her face. She wasn't too happy about it but right after that, everyone in the room began sputtering and seizuring before falling to the floor." Simon rambled,_

"_It was not Meliorn." Isabelle replied angrily. "How can you all be so prejudiced and biased like our parents! Jace and Clary, he risked his life to save your asses in the other dimension!"_

"_A downworlder," Clary murmured, glancing fearfully at Isabelle. "It was probably a downworlder. How this downworlder got in could still have something to do with one of us but whoever took the organs was a downworlder. Simon - he's a vampire and the gas didn't have an affect on him…"_

"_What's even more frustrating is that the traitor is probably right here. In this chamber, sitting, chatting, playing all of us..." Jace continued, running a hand through his messy hair._

* * *

It had been a week since the gas attack on the New York Institute. Although the higher ups in the Institute had agreed to make a statement to the other Shadowhunters that the source was unknown in order to avoid tipping off the traitor, they knew the disturbing truth.

Walking the hallowed halls of the Institute was like a nightmare. Each face Clary passed, was no longer a friend but she couldn't see an enemy in their smile or yawn or frown either. Nobody besides the select few, suspected anything out of the ordinary. Others continued patrolling without really knowing that they were defending all the wrong places and people. They ate in the hall without realizing their meals could have been prepared by a murderer. They worked hard in the training room, blissfully unaware that they could be sparring with a foe. Clary envied them and their ignorance.

Isabelle had returned from her hazmat donned autopsy in Idris of the body that the gas leak was planted in with no more evidence that could help catch the perpetrator. She had refused to speak to Alec for days as he had questioned Meliorn against her wishes. He had come up empty too.

And then there was Clary. For some reason she'd grown protective of the two orphaned children - Lillian and James Dunce, from the gas leak.

She'd spent every spare opportunity, checking in on them, reading to them and training them. They showed no signs of grief, which was understandable given their young age. Clary watched as James buried his nose in a rather thick picture book of Shadowhunter history with a hefty amount of words. He was perched on a stool at the far end of the courtyard, his glasses had slid partway down his tiny nose and he was clearly trying to drown out the noise. His sister Lillian had her toy sword brandished in front of her and was whacking away at the shortest training dummy the Institute had. It was rather endearing.

"I think we care so much because we see ourselves in them." Jace murmured, moving to stand beside her. She was standing at a post off to the side of the courtyard, hidden from view.

"The Institute will raise them right?" Clary whispered, watching as Lillian charged at the small dummy.

"Just like it raised me." he assured, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Can I feed you now?"

"Did you finish sending out the invitations?" Clary laughed, turning with him so they could head towards the dining hall. "Isabelle will see murder if you forgot Jace."

"Relax babe, I sent them out late last night. They should be arriving this morning." Jace said, sounding displeased as he led them to Alec and Magnus' table. They seemed to be arguing about something but stopped abruptly when Clary and Jace arrived.

"Everything alright?" Clary asked, sliding into the seat opposite Magnus.

"Fine." Alec said curtly, taking an unnecessarily large bite of his sandwich. Jace looked unconvinced but everyone was much too tired to press the matter. "We're short staffed today what with Brett on personal leave for his elder brother's wedding at the Los Angeles Institute and Raj is supposed to be leading a training camp for the younger Shadowhunters at noon."

Jace was halfway through his recount of his most irritating patrol shift with Raj when a loud shout came from a few tables behind them. Clary whirled around, dreading what she might face. What was trying to kill them now?

"He needs medical attention!" Underhill crowed, waving his arms around at the four of them. Everyone turned between Underhill and their table expectantly. Then Clary saw what Underhill was panicking about. Meliorn was cheek first in his garden salad, blood trailing out from his nostrils as he lay unconscious. Everyone at or near his table was motionless, evidently horror struck and slightly disgusted.

Magnus was the first to reach his side, sending spirals of his magic into Meliorn's body in an attempt to revive him. Alec was ushering people back and searching for witnesses who'd seen what happened. Jace was already on the phone, relaying information and requesting backup. Clary moved slowly towards Meliorn's table. She studied the garden salad carefully. There was no apparent injuries to Meliorn, besides his nosebleed. Clary prodded the salad, moving it around and seeing nothing alarming.

She crouched down and sniffed carefully at the dish. A sudden wave of nausea and fire burned in her nostrils and she immediately moved the salad away from Meliorn. Poison.

Within 15 minutes, Shadowhunter medics arrived rather skeptically and moved Meliorn to seek treatment from the Silent Brothers. His dining table was taped off and Aline and Clary were testing the food for poison. Isabelle was listening impatiently to Underhill's recount.

"It's seelie poison." Aline murmured, her eye glued to the microscope. "I'm positive. It's a rare strain of poison that has a tangy, sweet taste to the fair folk but to Shadowhunters, it smells unpleasant. He probably didn't realize the salad had been tainted."

"The question is how the poison reached Meliorn's meal." Jace said, leaning against a different table. "This feels pretty targeted, this was meant to assassinate Meliorn, our only source of intel into the Seelie world."

Clary straightened from her hunched position over the microscope slabs. "Whoever poisoned Meliorn had to have been in contact with the food between the cafeteria line and his table. That leaves an impossibly large list of potential suspects."

"The chefs, the servers and anyone who had been in the dining hall at the same time as Meliorn." Jace finished her thought. The traitor had been within vicinity, close; too close.

"Alec, Magnus and me will handle this." Isabelle sighed, moving over from her discussion with Underhill. "I just got a call from the Shadowhunter Academy. They found a body and they think it's related to our New York serial killer. Yeah. That's what they're calling it now; _New York serial killer_."

"Is it a student?" Alec asked.

"They can't tell, the face is pretty mangled. Clary and Jace I'm sending the two of you to investigate and perform the autopsy at the academy. All autopsies from this point forward must be performed with hazmat masks. Just stay there for a week or so and get all the evidence you need, teach a few classes, interrogate a few kids. But don't spread fear, Vivianne Penhallow is trying to keep it under wraps." Isabelle explained, staring at the bowl salad.

"How could the traitor, who's supposedly a part of this Institute, murder someone at the Shadowhunter Academy and be here to poison Meliorn?" Alec wondered aloud.

"He or she probably killed the victim and dumped the body well before returning here to silence our most valuable asset. While you're searching, check for anyone who was scheduled for a lecture or visit to the Academy. Clary and I will pack - " he said barely finishing his sentence, before dragging Clary towards the exit.

"What's wrong?" Clary whispered, once they reached the safety of their room. Jace appeared to be deep in thought as he stuffed random articles of clothing into his duffel bag. His tension unsettled her as she watched him tear around the room, grabbing and tossing stuff like a madman.

"Jace." she repeated. He stopped for a second and turned slowly to face her.

"It's just a theory…"

"Jace."

"What if Aline _Penhallow _paid a visit to Vivianne _Penhallow _who is the dean of the academy. She doesn't need any reason besides the fact that their relatives, to pay a visit to the murder scene. Then she's also sitting in the dining hall with us?" Jace said carefully, before falling onto the bed with exhaustion. "There's no such thing as a coincidence. Not like this."

Clary was silent for a moment. Aline Penhallow a traitor? Impossible.

"When we go to the academy, you can't go interrogating Vivianne. If she's in on this, or if she refuses to believe our accusations have plausibility...she'll tell Aline and we'll be exposed." Clary said, still standing at the door of the room. She watched Jace nod from the bed and then she moved to pack her own duffel.

"I can't think of a single motive Aline could have for doing all of this…" Jace trailed off, draping a tired arm across his forehead. "I mean she was the one who found the particles to the other dimension, she's been integral to this entire investigation."  
"But you just said it for yourself. She found the particles to the dimension we were almost killed in." Clary replied, zipping her bag shut. "She's been at the center of this operation with high clearance and accessibility to everything in the Institute."

"She has means but no motive." Jace continued, rubbing his stubble thoughtfully. "Unless she's being possessed…"

Jace was still spouting off theories and possible explanations when Clary finished packing. She grabbed his hand and hauled him off the bed. She knew that the suspicion of a traitor was driving Jace mad with paranoia and grief as he mourned the loss of a fellow Shadowhunter. He truly valued his brothers in arms and the united front of the soldiers in the Institute. This was killing him more than he'd care to admit.

"Are you ready?" she murmured, watching him heave his duffel onto his shoulder.

"Yes."

* * *

The slope up the hill to reach the grounds of the Shadowhunter Academy was steep and muddy. Jace trudged through the muck, his eyes trained on the crumbling yet sturdy castle at the top of the mount. Rain was speckling gently onto them, making the hike even more disagreeable.

In another life, a very different life, Jace imagined himself here at the academy. He would meet Clarissa Fairchild, the daughter of Jocelyn and Valentine Morgenstern - Clave heroes not villains. And they would fall in love just the same, and they would train together and they would meet their parabatis Isabelle and Alec Lightwood. Together they'd rule the academy, perhaps move onto the more advanced training at Scholomance.

Jace wanted to laugh at his pathetic imagination. It was a cruel and impossible dream.

"You've given lectures here right?" Clary asked, brushing her red curls away from her face to peer at him from under the hood of her coat.

Jace didn't bother pulling on his hood, much to Clary's confusion and annoyance. He liked the way the rain felt against his face. It was refreshing, like it washed away his crimes, dreams and fears all at once.

"A few times. I rather enjoyed it." Jace said, surprising himself by this realization. "Maybe when we're old like Maryse and Robert, we can become instructors at this dump."

Clary laughed as she scanned the horizon, where the rain seemed endless and the stoned building awaited them. She seemed to consider his half serious, half joking proposition.

"I don't know how I'd teach these Shadowhunter bred and born kids when I'm practically a mundane who's had barely a year or so of training." Clary replied dryly.

"You've encountered, experienced and conquered more than any wrinkly Shadowhunter prune lecturing full time in the academy." Jace assured, with full certainty. If anyone was born for this life it was Clary. She'd been undeniably drawn and attracted to it, both times she was a mundane.

"Maybe," Clary agreed, sounding disbelieving as they reached the wooden doors to the academy.

The door was opened by a tall woman with sharp cheekbones and a warm smile that showed a very clear semblance to the Penhallow family. Jace did his best to keep the suspicion off his face and ended up leaving a half grimace. Vivianne Penhallow beckoned them in as they hurried out of what had become a torrential downpour and into the toasty castle.

"Thank you both for coming, we really couldn't afford to move the body, we don't have the resources…" Dean Penhallow explained. There were dark shadows under her eyes and her cheekbones had a slightly gaunt slant to them that they didn't have the last time Jace had seen her. But he was sure that he had a similar change in his own face.

"Where was the body found?" Clary asked, pulling down her soaked hood to reveal her equally as drenched hair. She shook it out slightly in a way that was almost endearing.

"In the west tower. It's usually empty because it's rather unrenovated and outdated. But students sneak up there to...fraternize and two students reported the body yesterday." Dean Penhallow said leading them down a narrow corridor. Everything about the academy seemed extremely fragile and weak due to age but it didn't draw away from the rich history of the academy. Rain was pattering angrily against the paned windows and Jace wondered if they were strong enough to withstand such a violent onslaught.

"Are we heading there now?" Clary asked, her bright eyes drinking in their surroundings. It was her first time in the academy and Jace was rather disappointed it would be tainted with crime and evil. They'd reached the end of the long corridor and there was a spiral staircase that winded upwards.

"No we can leave that for tomorrow." Dean Penhallow said not unkindly. "It's late and I don't want to make an awful amount of noise and disturb the students. Besides you're both probably exhausted from the journey, your rooms are upstairs and we've left some food for you in case you're hungry."

"Thank you Dean Penhallow." Clary smiled, leading the way upstairs. Jace couldn't bring himself to smile and just nodded uncomfortably at her and followed Clary. There were two rooms at the top of the stairs, Jace almost scoffed at the Dean's naive considerations and he promptly joined Clary in the room on the right.

Clary had barely shaken off her wet overcoats before launching herself into the small bed and falling into a heavy sleep. Jace smiled to himself, dropping his duffel onto the wooden cupboard and scanned his eyes around the small room. It was clearly designed for one habitant. There was a small window at the end of the room with a bench below it that overlooked the grand yard of the academy. The small bed occupied most of the room, and there was a single wooden cupboard, closet and desk against the walls. There was a bathroom about the size of a shoebox at the far side of the room with one nobbly sink, toilet and bathtub. Jace hadn't expected much more than that during their residence here. He collapsed into the bench by the window and stared outside at the gloomy landscape.

Somewhere between his revolving theories about Meliorn, Aline and the Seelie Queen, he dreamt of a golden pasture with nothing but sunshine to kiss the endless lawn, his mind was overtaken with a dreadful sense of doom as he stood all by himself in the middle of the thick woods, surrounded by a blanket of darkness…

He jerked up from his slouched position on the bench and swiveled his head from side to side. Clary was standing above him in a fresh set of clothes, staring critically down at him.

"Why didn't you sleep in the bed?" Clary asked, failing to filter out the accusation and mistrust in her tone.

"If I joined you on the bed, it might have taken its last breath, collapsed and fallen through the shabby floorboards, onto the poor students residing below us." Jace smirked, pulling Clary closer so she was standing between his legs.

"That's a bit of an overstatement," Clary replied, the corners of her mouth threatening to twitch upwards in a smile. "We should go, I want to take a look at the crime scene while the students are at breakfast."

Jace stifled his groan by burrowing his face into her soft middle. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drank in her consuming and intoxicating scent. Jace could feel her small fingers running through his messy hair and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep right here.

But he was drawn up from his seat and pushed gently to the bathroom. He moved grudgingly to his duffel, yanking out the first pieces of clothing his fingers reached and changed into them.

Jace led the way to the west tower, holding their bag filled with forensic equipment. Clary seemed entertained by the small surroundings in the academy. She would have fit in perfectly.

Stragglers running late for breakfast in the dining hall were lazily strolling down the corridors, teasing one another, pathetically flirting and gossiping like the children they were. Jace was mildly irritated and perhaps slightly judgemental of their ignorant and trivial problems.

They finally reached the frail looking west tower and they stood at the top, surveying the mangled and broken body that was splayed at the center of the round room. The tower was isolated and well hidden which likely made it an ideal spot for youthful and hormonal driven teenagers. Jace suppressed a snort as Clary snapped on a pair of gloves and crouched down by the body.

"Is it a student?" he asked, unable to study the body as well as Isabelle or Clary could.

"I think so, looks to be adolescent, female…" she whispered, turning the corpse's head to the side almost nauseatingly. "Did Dean Penhallow mention any students missing during their attendance?"

"No she didn't…" Jace said curtly. He could feel the theories swirling in his mind like a tornado and he still couldn't seem to decipher one that made sense of this mess.

"Don't say it." Clary sighed, knowing exactly what this seemed like. Was the Dean hiding something? Protecting someone?  
"Doesn't seem to be more than a day or two old. There are similar injuries to her body as the ones we found on the kidnapped Shadowhunters." she concluded, rising from her crouched position. This could only mean one thing. The murders were linked and they had failed to save this young girl from a most unfortunate and unjust death.

"Is it one of our students?" a voice called from the top of the stairs. Without turning, Jace knew it was Dean Penhallow. Although they had no proof of her involvement, Jace's defensive instincts were raging within him and he was strongly compelled to shove Clary behind him.

"I think so." Clary said with deep regret laced in her voice. "And there's no one unaccounted for?"

Dean Penhallow moved to the large window by the far end of the room and leaned against it. "No one is missing according to the attendance but it is not uncommon for students to be withdrawn by their parents to return to their Institutes or nations for funerals or important celebrations like weddings and parabatai ceremonies."

"This is a female, between the ages of 14 and 18." Clary prodded, hoping to identify the poor girl laying limply in front of them. Jace couldn't even bring himself to look closely.

"The only female that's been taken out of the academy is Evangeline Donovan for her brother's wedding." Dean Penhallow said, shaking her head with confusion. Jace stilled, an icy rush spreading throughout his body. Evangeline Donovan.

"By the angel," Clary said with disbelief. Dean Penhallow raised her bent head and eyed them both with confusion.

Jace inhaled sharply and locked eyes with Clary. How much should they say? He already knew what her trusting response would be and he clenched his teeth, pulling on his own gloves to get a fingerprint.

"We have a Shadowhunter at our Institute, Brett Donovan and he left too for his brother's wedding. I suppose we should contact him and verify that his sister's missing. But I'm not sure we want to inflict such grief on a happy occasion." Clary said to Dean Penhallow, despite Jace's futile objections. Dean Penhallow was silent as she digested this information.

"I'll contact the family." she finally said, excusing herself from the room. "Please help yourself to food in our kitchens."

As soon as she left Clary moved closer to him and kneeled down where he had taken a copy of the fingerprint. It was all the self control Jace had to keep his hands from shaking.

"Call Isabelle, tell her what's going on and advise her to keep an eye on Aline." Jace murmured, without glancing up at Clary's expression. He knew she didn't feel as comfortable with these accusations but to Jace, the mangled body in front of them was enough to warrant caution.

* * *

After a very awkward conversation with Isabelle, they'd started the autopsy on the body. Everything about the murder seemed linked to the serial killings in New York. Jace seemed deep in thought and Clary felt it was best to let him foster and process their findings. He still seemed the most unnerved by the fact that one of their own could betray them.

After a hasty meal in the kitchens, Clary and Jace, or rather Jace, was asked to give some lectures and lessons around the academy during their stay. Clary stood at the back of the training room and was quite intrigued by Jace's lesson. She knew from rather personal experience that he was an excellent teacher.

"You're all very young and you've got your entire Shadowhunting lives in front of you. It's not a career. It's not a hobby. It's a _lifetime _of servitude and dedication to a cause that is greater than your own lives. You've spent most of your time with each other. You know each other better than you probably know your own family. Because you all are a family. But as a soldier of the Clave and the angel, you must learn to recognize a wolf in sheep's skin amongst yourselves." Jace spoke in a clear ringing voice that echoed around the tall room. The students were seated at individual desks in a U shape, with Jace in the center, his hands clasped behind his back. They all looked at him with great reverence and awe, it was amusing to Clary. But she knew what this specific lecture was about and she supposed he was channeling all his frustrations and questions into this lesson.

"You're probably thinking that the idea of a traitor amongst yourselves is preposterous. Out of the question. Impossible, even. But if you can't grapple with this very possible scenario, if you can't bring yourself to question the integrity and character of the people around you, then you'll find yourself with the terrible responsibility of cleaning up the bodies of your brothers and sisters that couldn't escape the wolf in sheep's skin." Jace said, turning his eye on each of the excited and nervous trainees.

"How do you spot a wolf in sheep's skin if he looks like every other sheep?" a brave voice asked from the back row of the room. Clary saw that it was a lanky and tall boy with oaky hair and a deceivingly innocent dimple. Jace seemed to smile approvingly at this inquisitive question.

"A wolf is a wolf no matter what it's masquerading as." Jace replied, resuming his casual pace around the platform.

When Jace finished his lecture, he began leading them to a separate training room where he was instructing them about the proper way to get out of a choke hold. Clary found herself wandering back towards the west tower. Dean Penhallow had confirmed that Evangeline was indeed missing from their brother's wedding. Apparently she'd sent a note to the family, saying she couldn't leave the academy for she had a very pressing and important exam. An excuse that had turned out to be a lie. And now she was dead.

Clary pulled on the hazmat mask and resumed her examination of the body. She'd finished most of the skull and was cutting into the chest.

"Clary?" a voice called from the top of the staircase. Clary's eyes darted upwards and was startled and slightly anxious to see Aline standing there.

"Aline. What are you doing here? Did Isabelle send you?" Clary asked, pulling off the mask.

"No I came to drop some papers off for my aunt." she shrugged, moving closer to study the body. "This is really Brett's sister?"

"The fingerprints match." Clary said carefully, watching Aline's face for any reaction. She appeared equally as horrified and sorrowful.

"Does he know?" she asked, resting her hands on the table as she raised her head to meet Clary's questioning eyes.

"I don't think your aunt told them of the death yet. We wanted to spare them some grief during this happy occasion." Clary said steadily, maintaining eye contact with Aline.

"Look I also wanted to tell you something I've noticed about Brett…" Aline trailed off, dropping her voice to a bare whisper. Clary felt unease spread throughout her gut as she nodded for Aline to continue.

"Isabelle told me what happened at the Hunter's Moon after the demons were released in the city and something clicked last night and I hadn't been able to shake it. Brett mentioned his ex girlfriend was a seelie that was killed in a raid, what if he harbors some vengeance for his dead girlfriend?" Aline rambled, her eyes shining with curiosity. Clary couldn't _see _any underhanded intentions but Jace's voice rang loudly in the back of her mind - _A wolf is a wolf no matter what it's masquerading as. _

But then Clary sifted through her hazy memories of that terrible night and the conversation Aline mentioned came to the forefront.

"_Andrew Underhill has been kidnapped. Clary Fairchild, Jace Herondale, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood have an hour to save him or he dies." Magnus read into the silence._

"_The Seelies have to be behind this. And the corpse." Brett said examining the body._

"_You racist!" a drunk seelie cawed from the dance floor. "You racist ego logistical Shadowhunters are always lookin' to blame one of us."_

"_My ex was a seelie who was murdered in a Clave raid at a club. Don't you dare accuse me of being racist." Brett thundered as he turned to stare at the shocked seelies. "Get out of here before I show you what your intestines looks like."_

Clary inhaled sharply and Aline nodded with apprehension. A Clave raid. Brett might indeed have some anger towards the Clave and it's Shadowhunter soldiers for killing his girlfriend. And Clary knew the power that vengeance had to cloud judgement. She'd seen it firsthand…

"And guess what? I did some digging after I remembered this and I discovered that the Clave raid that killed his girlfriend was the one in Prague with you, Jace, Jonathan Morgenstern and the Seelie Queen." Aline said in hushed tones that still managed to ring loud and clear in the tower.

Clary felt her insides squirm with panic as she registered Aline's discoveries. If Aline's suspicions were right, and they seemed fairly valid, then Brett had been conspiring this entire time to take them down from the inside.

"And the Seelie Queen would be all too pleased to help him - " Clary continued the thought, her eyes widening and Aline nodded.  
"Because she needs him. And he would see her as a friend because his girlfriend trusted the queen." Aline finished. A veil of mystery and doom seemed to surround them in the tower as they stood there in silence, their thoughts and worries pounding against their skulls.

"Did you tell Isabelle yet?" Clary asked, gripping the edge of the table tightly.

"Not yet, I only really understood what my suspicions meant when I was travelling here. I'll let her know as soon as I get back. We can't say anything yet till we have solid proof to convict him, or we risk tipping him off. To think he's been working so closely to this case…" Aline said shaking her head in a way that was uncannily similar to Dean Penhallow.

"Thank you for telling me." Clary said, eyeing the other girl with a newfound respect. She had spotted a wolf in sheep's skin. Aline gave her a small smile and darted down the stairs.

Clary couldn't finish the autopsy, she was too absorbed by her thoughts and their discoveries, she wandered aimlessly back to their room at the opposite end of the academy. It was nearly twilight and most of the school was crowding in the dining hall. She needed some quiet, her mind was shouting a million different things at her. She'd been sitting on the bed, staring at the cracks along the wall as she ran through her discussion with Aline, when Jace walked in. He was slick with sweat and he had a wide grin on his face.

"These kids have a chance to be half the Shadowhunter I am if they keep training like this." he said dryly, as he stripped his shirt off and pulled on a fresh one. "I can see their little demon faces taking over the Institute in a few years."

He turned to see her reaction and stopped short at her fazed expression. He leaned against the bedpost and whistled to jostle her out of her thoughts.

"Aline just came to see me."

Jace looked shocked for a moment before his face clouded over with rage. He kicked their bedroom door shut and moved to sit opposite her. "What did she say? Where is she now? Why didn't you call me? Tell me you weren't alone with her - "

"Jace I'm not sure we're looking at the right wolf in sheep's skin." Clary cut off, leaning forward to meet his intense gaze. She could tell he was ready to argue.

"What could she possibly say to convince you?" Jace demanded. Clary explained their entire discussion to them, to the sound of her voice, her expression, the validity of her theories.

"I know you think Aline is a person of interest because of her relation to Dean Penhallow, the location of the most recent body and her high clearance but you have to admit that Brett's motives are far more likely." Clary reasoned, watching as the new information crashed over Jace as it did to her moments ago.

"But there's one factor that Aline can't explain." Jace finally said, his jaw clenching. "Why would Brett kill his own sister?"

Clary felt incredibly stupid for not realizing this sooner. Brett may have a strong motive to kill, he certainly has the means to do it with his high ranking in the Institute, and he could have the opportunity to perform these murders, but he had no reason to kill his own blood.

"For all we know he could have." Clary whispered faintly.

"What are you on about?" Jace asked incredulously.

"I killed my brother." Clary offered, already knowing the explosion that was about to unleash.

"That is completely different Clary and you know it!" Jace shouted, standing up from the bed and pacing the room. "Jonathan was a sadistic, amoral and power hungry man. Brett is a soldier to the Clave and he has done nothing but help us catch the killer!"  
"Think about it Jace - " Clary insisted. Jace scoffed and refused to look at her. "Brett works for the Clave, he has the _means _to commit these crimes. He works with Maia at the Hunter's Moon, the same place we found that body. He also works at the Institute and knew when the surveillance would be cut so he could kidnap Underhill. Then the toxic gas and Meliorn's poisoned food? It certainly wouldn't have been hard to plant either of those - "  
"It doesn't make sense Clary!" Jace yelled, running his hands feverishly through his hair. "He hated us enough from a raid that was an attempt to stop the most dangerous man on the planet? His girlfriend was collateral damage, we had no intention of harming her! And what was she doing anyways getting high in a club - "  
"You and I both know how vengeance can fuel a person to do anything." Clary said quietly, watching his breaths come out ragged. "Brett has always been there, just hidden in the background, never noticeable enough to give a second glance but close enough to cause this kind of destruction."

Jace seemed to accept her conclusions but couldn't bring himself to believe in them. Clary knew the way Jace regarded traitors. He had no sympathy or understanding for their cause because he valued loyalty and duty above any other possible factor. Jace turned to face her and he wore a pained expression that silenced every other thought or worry in Clary's mind. She held her arms open, wordlessly calling him to her.

He moved almost like a phantom as he fell into her arms and sprawled them across the small bed. She heard his breathing steady as he rested his cheek over her chest.

"I don't think this bed will survive." Jace teased lightly, his fingers tracing the soft skin that was exposed between her black tank top and jeans.

"I'm more afraid that we won't survive."

* * *

The next morning, the rain finally seemed to let up on the grounds. The grass was dewy and the air was musty but Jace was relieved that the rain had relinquished it's ferocious downpour on them. It was suffocating, feeling confined to the indoors of these hallowed halls.

After eating breakfast with the other students and instructors for the first time in the dining hall, Clary was eager to finish the autopsy immediately. She seemed anxious to be rid of the responsibility of examining the body and Jace couldn't find fault with that desire.

Jace had dragged his work laptop all the way to the academy to work on that dreadful ball Isabelle had burdened him with. He figured it was as good an opportunity as any to work on it while he accompanied Clary in the west tower.

"What color scheme won't offend Isabelle or any of the other attendees?" Jace wondered aloud, cocking his head to the side as he stared boredly at the options on his screen.

"Well I don't recommend too much white, it'll seem more like a funeral than a party." Clary commented, pulling the hazmat mask over her face.

"Magnus told me I should go for a 'Tiffany blue accents with almond or amaranth pink shades for the decorations with a papaya whip and cerise combination for the dinnerware along with cornsilk and celadon compliments for the gift bags.'" Jace recited, wrinkling his nose with disgust. "I was thinking along the lines of the classic red and white."

"Jace." Clary whispered. Jace raised his head and was surprised to see Clary standing still with the scalpel in her hand, trained over the body. In an instant he was on his feet and by her side. He peered queasily into the open body and stared between it and Clary for some sort of answer.

"What do you see?" Clary said in a low voice. "Or rather, what do you _not _see?"

Jace willed himself to carefully scrutinize the remains and ran through his basic knowledge of human anatomy. "The heart. It's missing." he concluded. Seeing her mortified expression, he knew he was correct.

Clary reached her hand into the cavity where the heart should have resided and tugged on a petal that lay innocently. Jace held his breath as she pulled the petal and it came away. It was attached to a string of other petals that followed after it in a sickening way. It reminded him of the mundanes who thought they were clever enough to pull a thread of seemingly endless cloth from their kerchiefs.

She spread the petals out in the order they were attached and stepped back with revulsion. A word was etched onto the face of each petal in an old fashioned handwriting.

"_Within these hallowed halls, lies a dormant explosion prepared to fall. Find my heart where the Queen and her pawns last fought, or watch these walls crumble apart."_

On the last petal of the morbid message, magic had inscripted a countdown that read exactly 1 hour.

Jace yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialled for the New York Institute. Clary snapped out of her daze and muttered something along the lines of alerting Dean Penhallow before she sprinted off down the staircase, still wearing her hazmat mask.

"Jace? Is everything alright? Aline told me her theory about Brett and it's got me really worried-" Isabelle said frantically.

"There's a bomb hidden in the academy. Clary was performing the autopsy and in place of the heart was a message." Jace explained hurriedly. He reiterated the message to Isabelle who was shell shocked on the other end of the line.

"I'll notify the Clave and we'll send help over as soon as possible." Isabelle assured him, and he could hear her running on the other side. "Jace, be careful please."

That was the last he heard before the line was cut. He raced down the staircase and nearly crashed into Clary. He steadied them both as his eyes darted between her and the frantic kids running in the corridor.

"Dean Penhallow?" he asked, gripping her hand as they moved against the crowds.

"She's initiated an evacuation. But we don't know the power or extent of the bomb. For all we know it could detonate within 100km of the academy, there's no way they could escape in time." Clary rushed, as they pushed their way through the crowds and finally reached the Dean's office.

"Clary we have to think, just you and me, the message was obviously designed for us to understand." Jace said, gripping her arm to stop them from entering the office. He wasn't sure if he stopped them because he believed in his words or if he still felt uncertain about the trustworthiness of the Dean.

"Right okay, where did we last fight the Seelie Queen?" she said urgently.

"She can't possibly expect us to travel to that damned dimension does she?" Jace said skeptically as they moved behind a post to get out of the way of the panicking students.

"But we didn't fight the queen there, not really, we fought her henchmen." Clary offered, leaning her head against the stone cold wall as she closed her eyes in deep thought. "The graveyard?"

"Where she crashed Jonathan's funeral?" Jace asked, feeling the pressure as thousands of feet thundered against the floor as they fled the academy.

"It could be, not that there was much fighting involved." Clary grimaced at the memory. Without another word, Jace towed her into the Dean's office. Any lead was better than nothing, they were racing against time now.

"Dean Penallow we need a portal." Jace blurted. The Dean stood up, her hands shaking slightly as she studied their expressions carefully.

"Inquisitor send a portal to the academy please." she added to her call before hanging up the phone. "I trust you two have good reason."

Jace nodded his head jerkily as they waited for the portal to arrive. He felt impatient as they waited in the small office. A fire blazed at the corner of the room when the phone rang again. The Dean answered it and muttered her thanks into it before turning to face them again.

"It's waiting for you by the grand entrance of the academy." she said quickly. Clary and Jace bolted out the door and ran towards the wooden door where the portal was. Jace skidded to a halt as he nearly slammed into a figure that had appeared in front of the portal.

"What are you doing here? You need to run now! Follow the others - " Jace snapped at the oaky haired boy who'd spoken out at his lecture the other day.

"But I thought Shadowhunters didn't run away from the enemy!" he protested, refusing to move. "We're supposed to face them."

"By the angel boy you're wasting our time!" Jace said with exasperation. "I meant trained Shadowhunters like us, you need to find an exit and move _fast_."

The young boy seemed completely resolute in his intention to help us and Jace felt at a loss for words that could explain to this naive child that this was not the time to play hero.

"If you want to help us, you can go tell Dean Penhallow that we're portalling to the Bone Chandelier club in Prague." Clary conceded to the boy, hoping this would appease him and move him out of their way. He seemed satisfied with his role and darted back towards her office.

"That kid has a death wish." Jace muttered as he turned to face Clary questioningly. "Bone Chandelier?"

"We actually did fight with the Seelie Queen at the club in Prague. It's a hunch." Clary shrugged, striding towards the portal before disappearing into it. Jace shook his head with surprise that he hadn't figured it out sooner and followed her.

He landed on his feet and had pulled his seraph blade out within the same second. His eyes roved over the club but it was empty. Clary was nowhere to be seen and he grit his teeth as he inched across the eerily quiet room. He felt an odd sense of dark nostalgia as he thought back to his last time here.

While he'd certainly been wary of Clary and Jonathan's control over her, he had been equally as weak to her. It was impossible not to fall in love with her. She had had full control over him and he had found that he didn't care.

"Jace." her voice sounded from across the room. She stood on the higher platform where the Seelie Queen had lounged the last time they were here. Clary's figure was hidden slightly in the shadows but he could see the outline of her strong features and the deadly grip she held on her daggers that hung low at her side. There was no withstanding Clary, Jace would have surrendered every weapon he had on him to her if she had asked him to. Instead, he beamed up at her and she stepped out into the light and smirked back at him.

"Look up." she called, and he followed her instructions without a second thought. The bone chandelier hung ominously over his head, the eyeless skulls staring back at him. But in between the skeletons, he spotted a still and pale human heart wedged in the center.

He grinned back at her and moved out of the way as she launched a dagger at the chains holding the chandelier up. The bones came crashing down onto the dance floor, some of them splintering into pieces, others rolled around the floor. The heart fell with a revolting smack against the floor and Jace moved closer to examine it.

"The Dean's office." he breathed looking up at Clary as she descended the stairs from the platform. "It's engraved into the heart."

Clary pulled out her phone and Isabelle picked up on the first ring. "It's in the Dean's office."

After she'd hung up, she moved towards him so that she could reach for his arm.

"They disarmed it." she said with relief as she sunk into his arms and pocketed her phone. "They're bringing the body back to the Institute and Isabelle will inform Brett and his family tomorrow morning."

"The Bone Chandelier. It has a unique meaning to Brett don't you think?" she murmured, surveying the scattered bone fragments that spread across the floor.

"The Dean's office. It has a unique meaning to Aline don't you think?" Jace said wryly as he turned to look down at Clary. She shook her head ruefully before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Why would Aline kill her aunt?" Clary wondered, still gripping her other dagger tightly.

"Why would you want to kill your father?" Jace countered, ignoring her exasperated look. "It's the same comparison we drew between Brett and his sister and you and Jonathan. Family means nothing when there is a call for bloodshed."

Clary didn't say anything else as they stood silently together in a sea of bones.

Author's Note

Things are picking up now! Next chapter is the turning point for the story and then things become a lot more fast paced.

I'm also revealing the **REAL TRAITOR** next chapter so stay tuned! Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you all.

Stay safe everyone


	9. Chapter 9: A Friend of a Friend of a Foe

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, _

"_What if Aline Penhallow paid a visit to Vivianne Penhallow who is the dean of the academy. She doesn't need any reason besides the fact that their relatives, to pay a visit to the murder scene. Then she's also sitting in the dining hall with us?" Jace said carefully._

_Dean Penhallow had confirmed that Evangeline was indeed missing from their brother's wedding. Apparently she'd sent a note to the family, saying she couldn't leave the academy for she had a very pressing and important exam. An excuse that had turned out to be a lie. And now she was dead. _

"_Brett mentioned his ex girlfriend was a seelie that was killed in a raid, what if he harbors some vengeance for his dead girlfriend?" Aline rambled, her eyes shining with curiosity. "I discovered that the Clave raid that killed his girlfriend was the one in Prague with you, Jace, Jonathan Morgenstern and the Seelie Queen." _

"_Brett works for the Clave, he has the means to commit these crimes. He works with Maia at the Hunter's Moon, the same place we found that body. He also works at the Institute and knew when the surveillance would be cut so he could kidnap Underhill. Then the toxic gas and Meliorn's poisoned food? It certainly wouldn't have been hard to plant either of those - "_

* * *

"NO." Jace scowled, snatching the garlands from Raj's hands. "It's supposed to hang from the ceilings not the walls, just let me do it."

Clary smirked from her end of the massive hall as she watched Jace wrestle the flower garlands from Raj's all but willing hands. She had just finished organizing the center pieces of the dinner tables, which had taken longer than expected with Isabelle's ever changing "vision" of the Inter Institute Ball.

Jace had surprisingly pulled off a rather gorgeous event and Clary was surprised he hadn't butchered it and went with his own personal preference of weapons and war decorations. Instead, there were exquisite arrangements of flower garlands suspended from the high arches of the grand hall. Twinkle lights were twining their way along the walls, illuminating the room with a burst of light. Symbols recognizing the downworld and each institute in attendance were plastered in a mosaic along the wall and the pillars were wound with rich colored streamers. The dance floor was sparkling clean and Clary suspected Magnus had barfed a handful of glitter to add to it's shiny face.

"Do you think I should start with 'Greetings my fellow Institute leaders' or 'Welcome to the finest New York Institute'?" Isabelle wondered aloud as she hastily jotted down notes to her speech. Clary eyed her with amusement as she mulled over the introductions.

"Greetings seems a little outdated doesn't it?" Clary offered, straightening out the flower pieces.

"I figured if I used older diction, they'd take me more seriously as the head of the Institute. They all probably think I'm failing at this job, that I'm too young to be tackling this responsibility and handling the serial killings terribly - " Isabelle said bitterly, as she twirled her pen between her fingers.

"Nobody thinks that." Clary assured, leaning against the edge of the table. "Just speak honestly, you don't have to go out of your way to impress the other Institutes, the ball is impressive enough."

"I was thinking we should order more fairy lights - " Isabelle started eagerly.

"No." Clary and Jace said at the same time. He had apparently finished hanging his flower garlands and had grumpily stomped over to their table. His irritated expression couldn't take away from the gleam of pride in his eye. Jace Herondale throwing a ball _was _a rather remarkable feat.

"Well I suppose it could be overwhelming to the tables near the walls." Isabelle considered, her eyes roving over the hall. "Did either of you get a chance to speak to Maia about Brett?"

Jace shot Clary an uneasy look and he shook his head once. "It's not exactly an easy subject to broach without arousing suspicion in either of them. Hey Maia? Has your boyfriend shown any signs of being a selfish, conniving, blood thirsty traitor?"

Clary pursed her lips at his harshness. "Well have either of you spoken to Helen about Aline?"

They both stared back at her blankly and she sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"They're practically family, how can we even ask them something like that without sounding completely paranoid?" Isabelle huffed indignantly as she turned back to stare at her half written speech.

"Weren't you the one convinced Aline had been playing us?" Clary whispered to Jace as he flipped through the seating arrangements.

"Yes but that doesn't mean it's any easier for me to accuse our cousins of treachery." he said without looking up as he pulled out the name cards. "Maybe we should seat Aline and Brett together and then force them to talk to each other."

Clary rolled her eyes and pushed him and his name cards away to get their priorities in order. He turned and shot her wry smile before striding off to arrange his precious tables.

"Magnus and Alec should be returning from Alicante tonight. We have to be up early for the ball tomorrow to make sure everything runs smoothly." Isabelle said, yawning and leaning back in her seat.

Other Institute leaders and guests had begun arriving this morning, particularly the ones travelling from abroad. Even by portal, they prefered to get here early in case they couldn't get a warlock in time. The halls of the Institute were even more congested with busy bodies running around and the dining hall was simply overflowing with Shadowhunters.

Clary slipped away from the massive hall and snuck up a staircase and was relieved to find the greenhouse empty. As the Institute became more populated with Shadowhunters, Clary had grown wary of the central areas for congregation and sought sanctuary in her tiny greenhouse.

The night air trickled in from an open window on the ceiling of the glass paned greenhouse. There were a few dim lights to outline the pathway and Clary found a small bench in a lonely corner to lay down on.

She stared up at the dark sky through the glass rooftop and felt unusually paranoid about laying in such a vulnerable and exposed position, even in her own home. Since their return from the Shadowhunter Academy, Clary felt her own mind and fears overtaking her reason. Every face she encountered was a mask and she was troubled to find that she couldn't clearly distinguish whether it was a foe or a friend underneath.

Something earth shattering was coming, she could feel it in her bones and then she fell into a restless and silent sleep.

"I'll lower the wards while everyone's at the ball. Don't worry I have this under control." a voice said crisply, breaking Clary out of her sleep. She jerked to an upright position, her hand reaching for her daggers and stifled her gasp. She couldn't see anyone in the greenhouse with her and she couldn't pinpoint the identity of the speaker either but it was astonishingly familiar.

"Hopefully in the panic and confusion of the demon raid we can capture the Consul Penhallow and we'll get our answers. Have your men ready, I'm going to the control room around 7." the voice said, barely above a whisper. And of course the tone of the voice was neither high nor deep and Clary couldn't confidently say it was a male or female.

Clary stood silently and crept close to the shadows of the greenhouse flora, craning her neck to see who the voice belonged to. There was the sound of retreating footsteps and Clary was tempted to follow the speaker but if she did, what were the chances she'd be unincapitated? She had the knowledge to save their Consul, if she confronted the speaker for the sake of her own curiosity, there was no guarantee that the kidnap attempt would be unsuccessful.

So she remained hidden in the shadows and leaned her head against the wall in frustration. Brett and Aline. Neither seemed likely candidates for treason but did she really know them all that well? Did Aline harbor enough hatred to kidnap her own mother? Was Brett fueled by enough vengeance that he could betray his own kind?

She could tell Isabelle and Alec and Jace, she really should. But if she did they would panic. Isabelle and Alec were high ranking Clave members who would be obligated to inform Consul Penhallow. Then the opportunity to catch the traitor would slip out of their grasp. And Jace? Wasn't it better to save him from this burden? This terrible responsibility?

The decision was simple. The control room at 7 was where Clary would satiate her curiosity by uncovering the true traitor and exact her revenge by foiling their kidnap attempt. Surely this was the only way…

"Clary!" a voice called from the entrance. She whirled around, dagger raised and was both relieved and surprised to see Isabelle standing there, her eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," she murmured, sheathing her dagger before emerging out of the darkness. "What time is it?"  
"It's past noon! We've been looking for you and Jace finally had the brilliant idea that you may be here. God, Clary, today of all days is not the time to sleep in!" Isabelle said angrily, grasping her wrist and towing her down the corridor.

"I'm sorry Iz, I really just - " Clary said tiredly, choking up on her words as her mind whirled with plans and theories. " - just lost track of time. What else do you need help with?"

Isabelle was entitled to her fury and Clary accepted each of the dreary tasks she was assigned without complaint. Clary spent the next few hours darting around the Institute, delivering messages to other Institute heads, leading the DJ to his stage, placing the complementary gift bags by each seat.

She was walking briskly towards the ops center to give instructions to the patrol team for their altered schedule during the ball when Jace rounded the corner and strode towards her.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day," he said, his eyes scrutinizing what must have been a very distraught and flustered face. "Are you alright?"  
Clary felt her words constrict and falter at the tip of her tongue as she avoided his intense gaze. This was _Jace_. She longed to relieve the news she heard to him but he already seemed haggard with loss of sleep and overwhelming stress as he planned this ridiculous event.

"I'm fine, I've just got a million things to do before the ball and I still have to get ready," she rambled, eyeing his nicely fitted suit with irritation. Only Jace could manage to look handsome and collected while coordinating a massive ball.

"Let me help you," he said softly, reaching for the papers in her hand. He pressed his lips to her temple and she nearly unravelled right then. _Please help me, _she thought desperately. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

Instead she said, "Can you finish handing these assignments out and tell the patrol team for tonight what the revised rotation is?"

"Only for you," he beamed down at her. And this time she couldn't resist looking up into those burning golden eyes and she felt her heart clench painfully. She gave him a weak smile and pecked the corner of his mouth before turning and running in the opposite direction.

She passed by many Shadowhunters both native and foreign to the Institute, already dressed in the most elegant and refined gowns she'd ever seen. It was mesmerizing to see their warrior bodies show a more deadly beauty in their formal attire.

Clary hastened to change out of her day's old clothes and pulled on her own dress, handpicked by Isabelle. It was a lovely periwinkle fabric that clung to her body nicely but also had enough room so she didn't feel suffocated. There was a deep cut on the front and back of her dress that fell from her hips in a flattering way. There were a few subtle sparkles that dotted the length of the gown and a thin ribbon of satin that looped around her waist. Clary didn't have time to do anything more to her hair than a messy attempt at a low bun before she was rushing to the door.

She stopped abruptly and grabbed a smaller, thinner weapons belt and carefully slipped it under the dress. She used a dagger to slice down the fabric from her mid thigh to the floor on either side, granting her legs a wider range of motion uninhibited by the dress material.

Without another glance in the mirror, she hurried down the empty corridors to the main hall where most of the guests were already gathering.

Clary's eyes immediately sought out Jia Penhallow. She was standing at the heart of the socializing Shadowhunters, tall, proud and regal. She was in deep conversation with Maryse and Robert Lightwood. Clary's eyes raked the crowds and landed on Brett. He wore a solemn expression as he wrapped an arm casually around Maia's waist as they chatted with Bat who was the DJ for the night. She supposed he had always worn the solemn expression since he'd returned from his brother's wedding, only to attend his sister's funeral.

Aline was nowhere in sight.

"Well I am the luckiest man in the room." Jace murmured, sidling up beside her. His eyes drank in her frame and a wide grin spread across his achingly gorgeous features. She couldn't repress her smile as she leaned up to kiss his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she could feel his warmth through the material of her gown. She gripped his hair in her hand as her other arm tugged his tie so that he was drawn closer to her.  
"You didn't tie this right." she laughed, unknotting the poorly assembled tie and redoing it around his neck. He leaned back so she could adjust his collar and studied her carefully.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked slowly, his eyes piercing into her as she concentrated her focus on securing the tie.

"Of course." she replied, tugging on the edges of his blazer a little too hard.

"Are you suspecting a fight tonight?" he whispered quietly so only she could hear. Clary stilled under his hands and gazed up at him with surprise. Then his hands pressed harder against her waist and he leaned down so his lips were tickling her ear. "Your weapons belt may be hidden from sight but I can feel it under here,"

Her breathing became laboured as she raised her eyes to meet his. It pained her to lie to him but she knew Jace. If he even suspected an attack tonight, he would be so alert it would surely raise some alarms.

"You can't tell me you don't have a seraph blade hidden beneath this dapper outfit," Clary murmured, sliding her hands underneath his blazer before landing on the hilt of a dagger hidden in his breast pocket. "Ha,"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously down at her and frowned. "That's different, you're armed for battle - "

"Clary can you come help me escort guests to their seats?" Isabelle called out from the entrance of the hall. She turned gratefully to her and nodded quickly, before averting Jace's questioning stare and slipping out of his grasp.

* * *

Jace watched her flit around the room, a fake but convincing smile plastered on her face as she led Institute officials to their seats. Clary jumped slightly when someone called her name or approached her suddenly. Her tension and jump was barely noticeable to the untrained eye, but Jace was more highly trained in translating the overly complicated language of Clary Fairchild.

"Where's the bar?" a voice asked inquiringly. Without turning his gaze from Clary, he replied with wariness when he could no longer subtly ignore the voice clearly addressing him.

"Maia is running the bar on the far side of the room. It's an open bar. Enjoy." he said curtly and he was relieved to hear the stranger trot away from him.

"Jace can you give the welcome speech to the Downworld leaders? Alec was supposed to do it but he and Magnus are settling some argument in my office, Jace! Did you hear anything I just said?" Isabelle said with exasperation. "Everything that could possibly go wrong, is going wrong! Why is everybody so self-absorbed today?"

"Get Alec to do it." Jace said dryly.

"I _just _explained to you - " Isabelle bit out between clenched teeth as she yanked his blazer roughly to turn his attention to her. "Jace what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Have you noticed anything off about Clary today?" Jace said, finally allowing his eyes to focus on Isabelle. She seemed wrought with rage as she trembled almost imperceptibly in front of him. With an internal smirk he thought if he prodded her cheek with his finger she might implode.

"There's something off about _everyone _today," she hissed snidely, crossing her arms with indignation. "Will you read the welcome or not?"

"Welcome who?" he asked, furrowing his brows. He was amused and alarmed to see her eyes blaze with frustration as she turned wordlessly and stomped in the other direction. He shrugged to himself, he figured he'd make it up to her with a patrol cover or something.

Jace directed his attention back to the chatty crowd of Shadowhunters and flipped past each face in search for Clary's. He'd never attended an Inter Institute ball before, but he'd heard admiring tales about the beauty of the event and the patriotic atmosphere. He couldn't help but agree with the stories. There was something pure and wholesome about a gathering of the Nephilim. They were soldiers, like the arms or legs of a body that served the same purpose in their native lands but were one heart when they united together.

A ripple of panic ignited in his chest when Jace couldn't find Clary's face in the crowd and he found his feet moving of their own volition to join the masses. He began shoving his way through the bodies, each face was blurred as his eyes didn't bother to study them closely enough when he realized it wasn't Clary. He'd nearly reached the middle of the hoard when Isabelle's voice rang in the air.

"We ask that the remainder of guests locate their seats so we can begin." she called out, her voice magnified in the grand hall as guests lowered their mindless tither and slowly began dispersing to their respective tables.

Jace felt his muscles relax when he wound his way to his table and saw that Clary was already perched in the seat beside his, her eyes anxiously scanning the room before landing on him. She seemed beyond relieved to see him and he wondered if she felt the same unease when they were apart.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, echoing his earlier words as he settled into the chair beside hers. He nodded once at her and eyed her curiously.

She blushed under his stare and looked determinedly at the podium on the stage where Isabelle stood. If it weren't for the tangible fact that she was sitting beside him, he wouldn't have been able to draw his gaze to Isabelle as she began her speech.

"Welcome fellow Nephilim to the Inter Institute ball. As the head of the New York Institute I'm very honored to host this Shadowhunter tradition in our home. This long standing event calls all people of our blood to reunite under one roof and strengthen the bonds that make us family. The Clave is also pleased to welcome, for the first time in Inter Institute history, the Downworlder representatives." Isabelle paused, allowing the crowd to clap.

Jace bit the inside of his cheek as he studied the Downworlder representatives. Raphael, Luke and Lorenzo were nodding at the crowd's welcome as they sat in the seat for the Night children, the werewolves and the warlocks. But Jace was most unnerved by the Faerie representative. The Seelie Queen must have been feeling more idiotic than normal, to send Kaelie. He peeped at Clary from the corner of his eye to seek her reaction. Her face held polite interest but he could see her pursed lips and underlying tension.

He hated parties.

"The Inter Institute ball reminds the leaders of each Institute that we are one body, mind and soul that lives to serve and protect. We are brothers and sisters who must remain strong in solidarity against our enemies." Isabelle continued. Jace heard her falter on the word 'enemies' but he doubted anyone else had noticed.

"Enjoy the evening and may the angel watch over us." she finished to a loud round of applause. She looked pleased as she descended the stairs to her table and Jace felt a tinge of guilt for being absent during their conversation.

He turned back to his table and saw Clary glaring at him from his peripheral vision. Oh right. Jace had forgotten to tell her that he'd switched their seats so that they were within close range of Aline and Brett. Sitting around their table was Maia, Brett, Aline and Helen. They did say that curiosity killed the cat…

"So," Maia said awkwardly as she leaned back against Brett's arm that was draped across the back of her seat. "Quite a shindig you've pulled together here."

"It was all Jace," Clary said with a false sweetness laced in her voice as she squeezed his hand tightly. Jace hated parties.

"Now dear, you give me too much credit." Jace smiled at her but her face was defiantly turned the other direction. Maia gave them a strange look but didn't say anything else.

"Has anyone heard about Meliorn?" Helen asked, clearly oblivious to Clary and Jace's snide side conversation.

"The Silent Brothers managed to revive him." Brett answered, before taking a large sip of champagne. Jace saw the bags under his eyes and wondered if they were from long nights plotting against them or from the grief of losing a sister. Even he couldn't tell.

As the food was served, the table broke off into their separate conversation. Jace listened intently as Clary leaned closer to Maia.

"How's Brett doing?" she asked, perhaps even genuinely.

Maia leaned closer as Brett was engaged in discussion with Helen and Aline. "As good as he can be given the circumstances."

"He looks pretty beat up," Jace added, receiving an irritated glance from Clary.

"Brett went straight from his brother's wedding to his sister's funeral, I don't even know how he's able to socialize and smile right now." Maia agreed, turning to look at him with admiration. Maia was a smart girl. Surely she would notice his strange behaviour if he had underhanded intentions?

"I'm going to go get a drink." Maia said standing up slowly. "Maybe you two should get one too, you look like you could lighten up a bit."

Clary turned to look at Jace and she sighed deeply before taking a gulp of her champagne.

"I can't believe she didn't show up." Aline said abruptly. Every eye turned to her and Helen seemed wary as Aline frowned in her mother's direction. "My aunt. Vivianne Penhallow." she amended at their confused stares.

"Were you two close?" Jace asked, watching her for a reaction. Her eyes met his levelly and her lip curled slightly.

"She's my aunt." she said simply.  
"And didn't you see her recently? When the bomb was planted in the academy?" Jace prodded, ignoring Clary's questioning stare. Before Aline could respond the music began pouring out from the hidden speakers and the odes of heart broken artists began floating around the hall.

"Dance with me." Helen said, eyeing Jace with a mixture of accusation and question. She pulled Aline from her seat and led her to the dance floor. Jace wasn't sure how much he would have to coerce Clary but was surprised that when he stood and offered her his hand, she accepted it.

He slid an arm around her waist and grasped her other hand as they swayed to the music. She seemed distracted, her eyes darting everywhere except at him.

"Hey," he murmured, nudging her forehead with his own. "Tell me."

Her eyes had fixated on the hollow of his throat and she inhaled sharply. "Tell you what?"  
"Don't make me beg Clary," he pleaded, searching for her eyes. Her eyes flashed to something over his shoulder and he had a painful feeling of deja vu. "Clary," he said slowly.

"Jace." she whispered, her grip tightening on his shoulders.

"You're not about to run away and lose your memories and leave me again are you?" he said, keeping his voice steady, though his chest burned at the memory. Finally, her eyes flickered up to his and it was like he could breathe again.

"Don't be ridiculous, never again." she smiled genuinely. He wasn't satisfied with her answer but decided against pushing for answers. He settled with holding her closely against his chest. Jace could feel Clary's heart pound against his chest and he could feel the tension in her posture.

He rested his head against hers and momentarily allowed himself to be consumed by Clary.

Isabelle clambered up onto the podium again and her voice rang out over the song. "To develop our relations with other institutes, each time the song changes, change dance partners."

Jace _really _hated parties.

The song changed suddenly and before he could protest, Clary had been drawn out from his arms and into another man's. He barely glanced at his new dance partner as he felt his stomach drop at Clary's counterpart. It was that bastard Gorman, from the queen's head guard.

"He agreed to come as my date." his partner said. Jace scowled at the pair before glancing down at his new dance partner. Kaelie. He vowed to never attend another damn ball ever again.

"You can't tell me you're that desperate for a date." he scoffed, his eyes following Gorman with loathing. He could envision a million ways to pierce someone's heart and he longed for nothing more than to demonstrate these methods to Gorman. His hands on Clary's waist was enough to make Jace's hand twitch to the blade hidden in his blazer.

How could Isabelle allow a potential criminal in torture, kidnap and murder even step foot in the Institute? And now with his hands on Clary again, after he last tried to assault her in the alleyway… all Jace could see was red.

"Well you can't argue that I don't have good taste," Kaelie purred, her nose scrunching up at him. Jace had almost forgotten she was there. He stared blankly at her and inched them towards the DJ station.

"Change the fucking song." he muttered to Bat. His irritation must have been pretty obvious because within seconds a new tune rang throughout the hall.

Jace barely refrained himself from shoving Kaelie away and was alarmed to find Aline spun into his arms. "Er...hello."

* * *

Clary nearly cried with relief as the song changed and Gorman sauntered off to his next partner. May the angel bless whichever poor soul that would be.

"Hey Clary," Helen said bashfully as she glided into her arms. "Sorry about earlier with Aline, she's been acting strangely lately."

"What do you mean?" Clary said with a low voice. She nearly tore out of Helen's arms when she spotted Jace with Aline. Kaelie seemed like a miracle.

"The Consul and her sister Dean Penhallow never really got along. I think Aline was just trying to mend the family." Helen shrugged, smiling longingly at Aline. Clary was tempted to ask Helen to switch back with Jace but she forced herself to remain silent. Jace was probably interrogating away with Aline stuck as his dance partner.

Clary's eyes darted back to the clock and widened her eyes when she saw it was nearly 7. As Helen twirled her around, Clary was about to excuse herself when Helen spoke first.  
"Do you mind if we cut this dance short? I'm a little tired." Helen said awkwardly. Clary stiffened in her arms. Without turning her head around she knew what was directly behind her. The clock…

"I love this song," Clary said slowly, watching Helen blink in surprise. Impossible…

"I really do feel faint - " Helen said, a tone of urgency tinging her otherwise calm composure.

"Then why don't I help you to the restroom?" Clary said a little too quickly.

She could see a flash of panic across Helen's piercing green eyes. "I'm fine really - I just need to go - "

"To the control room?" Clary finished. This time the shock was plain on Helen's features before she laughed darkly, quietly.

"I thought I heard someone in the greenhouse this morning." Helen said nodding her head with understanding. She cocked her head to the side and considered Clary. Clary's heart hammered against her chest as she fought the urge to rip herself away from Helen's hands, which were beginning to tighten around hers.

_Helen. _Clary's thoughts raced wildly in her mind. Helen had high clearance, she had seelie blood which meant she had a connection with the seelie courts. But what was her motive?

"Why are you doing this?" Clary whispered, her eyes flashing briefly around the room in search of Jace. God how could she be this stupid?

"You don't know what you're talking about." Helen said softly. Her eyes seemed far away as her nails dug into Clary's waist. Then in a sudden flash, Helen's hand darted out and something sharp was digging into the back of Clary's neck. A dagger, hidden out of sight beneath Clary's curls. "Move."

Clary tried to control her breathing as Helen edged them towards the exit. "Helen, how could you do this? To Aline? To her mother? To your siblings!"

"Be quiet." Helen snapped, grabbing a coat from one of the empty seats and draping it across Clary's shoulders. She lowered the dagger so it pressed against her back, hidden beneath the coat.

"Don't do this, Alec will show mercy if you confess now - " Clary persisted and she gasped as the blade tore through her dress and dug into her skin. Helen was steering them in the direction of the control room. The corridors were mostly empty except for a few Shadowhunters escaping the bustle of the main hall. If only she could signal to one of them… but none were even looking their way.

They reached the hallway of the control room and it was empty. Clary would wait till they were almost at the room before she would break free of Helen and give her hell to pay.

"You really fooled me," Clary said, shaking her head. "I really thought you loved Aline - "

Helen had spun them so that Clary was pressed against the wall. The coat fell off her shoulders but the dagger was kissing the skin of her neck now. Helen's face sneered up at her and Clary still couldn't see the murderer, the traitor in her.

"I _do _love Aline." Helen snarled. "Consul Penhallow will not come to any harm tonight."

Clary scoffed. Helen was really pushing this. "You think she'll give any answers up to you? Even if you torture her - "  
"You arrogant bitch just shut up." Helen snapped, rolling her eyes at Clary. "I am not the monster you're making me out to be."  
Clary raised her eyebrow and nodded down at her dagger. "You convinced me."  
"_They took my brother_." Helen said, her voice tinged with pain now. Clary was surprised to see tears prick her eyes as the girl stared up at her desperately willing her to understand. "The Wild Hunt took my brother and the Seelie Queen can get him back - "

"You know that the Seelie Queen has no jurisdiction over the Wild Hunt." Clary said with disbelief. "You're not stupid, you have to know that - "  
"She's more powerful now." Helen protested, blinking back her tears as she looked at Clary with the most immense grief Clary had seen someone carry. "You would do _anything _right if someone took Jace or Simon or Isabelle? They're your family, and love makes us do stupid things - "  
"I would not betray my people and partake in the kidnap, torture and murder of others." Clary said coldly, watching the tears leak out from Helen's eyes and she couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity.

"I didn't do the actual kidnapping or torture, I don't even know where they took them. I just gave information to the Seelie Queen, I used my clearance to cut the surveillance here and there." she stifled a sob before tightening her grip on the dagger. "He's my brother."

"And Meliorn? And the poison gas? The bomb?" Clary rambled, eyeing the broken girl in front of her. Clary was sneaking her other hand up the slit of her dress to reach for her weapons belt.

"Meliorn," Helen gasped softly. "They told me the poison would only make him sick, not kill him. And I had no idea that the poisonous gas would kill, I mean it made me dizzy but I didn't die from inhalation and the bomb," she heaved, taking in sharp breaths. "As long as most people got out of the academy, nobody would get seriously hurt - "

"Helen." Clary interrupted. "Do you even hear yourself? The gas didn't affect downworlders and you have seelie blood but you also have Shadowhunter blood, you have to stop this you can't do this - "

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do." Helen said in a steely voice. "I'm not a bad person. My brother needs me and I will do whatever is necessary to save him."

Clary drove her knee into Helen's gut, sending her reeling back as she unsheathed her seraph blade and advanced towards the other girl. Helen righted herself and glowered back at Clary as she flung herself forward and the dagger clashed against the seraph blade. Clary twisted the blade, knocking the dagger out of her hand as she used her elbow to strike Helen's chin.

Helen spat blood violently on the floor before punching Clary sharply in the chest. Her seraph blade clattered to the floor and Helen swiped it up, pointing the tip to her chest.

"Walk." she said grimly. Clary didn't bother reaching for her other hidden weapons as Helen pushed her to the control room. She forced Clary into the chair in front of the largest monitor, the blade still kissing the back of her neck.

"I won't do it. I'm not lowering the wards so your men can infiltrate." Clary said sharply. "Cut me if you want but I'm not doing it."  
"I'll cut your carotid artery and then hide your body. Then I'll tell Jace that I know where you are and I'll drive this blade into his heart. Start typing." Helen said in a low voice. Clary could feel her cool breath against the back of her neck and she raised her hands to type.

Helen barked a humorless laugh. "Love makes you do stupid things doesn't it?"

Clary's mind whirled with panic as she slowly dragged her fingers across the keys. Helen was watching her and Clary grit her teeth as the decision became clear in her mind. She whirled around in her seat and narrowly dodged Helen's blade as she tackled the girl by the legs. They tumbled onto the floor and Clary drove her fist into Helen's nose as blood spurted out. The sword clattered to the floor as Clary pinned her legs down. With one hand on her bleeding nose, Helen pulled another short sword from her dress and dug into Clary's abdomen.

Her vision blurred as she was pushed off to the side, blood pooling against her periwinkle dress. She was on her side, clutching at her wound as she watched Helen's fingers dance across the keys, lowering the wards with a final click.

Clary's hand slick with blood reached for the fallen seraph blade and she winced with pain as she braced her other hand against the wound. She crawled towards Helen and with the last of her strength she brought her arm up in an arc and plunged the blade into Helen's back.

There was something sickeningly satisfying about stabbing her in the back. The universe was clever with its sadistic metaphors.

She hissed angrily, as she gripped the table tightly, turning around to kick Clary sharply in the jaw. Clary fell back against the wall, blood soaking her dress and her hand as she grappled for a stele.

The door opened suddenly and a group of 6 seelie guards stormed in, grabbing Helen under the arms and hauling her up. A portal appeared on the opposite wall of the control room when the door opened again. Jace with his wild blond hair, seraph blade blazing in his hand and Aline by his side. Both their eyes widened with shock as they drank in the scene before them.

"Helen?" Aline cried, rushing forward only to be blocked by 2 of the seelie guards.

"Clary," Jace breathed, falling to his knees beside her. She allowed herself to lean against the wall as she felt his deft fingers draw an iratze on her wrist. Her eyes were tracking Helen and Aline as they stared at each other between the shoulders of seelie guards.

"Helen." Aline repeated hoarsely.

"I'm sorry." Helen said gently. Then the two guards supporting her weight pulled her into the portal. Jace had risen from his kneeling stance and charged towards the remaining seelies.

Clary felt her wounds stitching up as she watched Jace kill two of the guards in the front and in a swift motion, he'd sliced his blade through the other two. Aline stood motionless, staring after the portal as it closed. Footsteps grew louder in the hall as Isabelle and Simon skidded to a halt at the door.

"Someone tell me what's happening." Aline said, her sword falling limply at her side.

Clary pulled herself up and saw Isabelle and Simon's eyes fearfully scan over her blood soaked dress. "Helen was the traitor."

* * *

Jace knew something had been off when he saw Helen and Clary disappear from the dance floor. What was even stranger was that Helen wrapped a coat around Clary's shoulders. He remained with Aline, receiving little response to his questions as he trained an eye on the entrance for Clary's return.

Two songs changed and Jace had ditched his partner. He grabbed Aline from Simon who shot him a confused look and towed her towards the exit. Anger was pulsing in Jace's veins as he led Aline into the corridors.

"What's going on? Where did Helen take Clary?" Jace demanded. Aline looked at him with disgust and wrenched her arm out of his grip.

"How would I know? Maybe she got her period?" Aline said venomously. "What is _wrong _with you today? Are you being possessed again - "

She'd barely finished her thoughts when Jace reached a hand to cover her mouth. He nodded further down the hall where a group of burly men were walking down the hall. Men that didn't appear to be Shadowhunters…

And now he was standing in Isabelle's office, his arms locked around Clary as they stood around her desk. Jace's blazer was hugging her shoulders and he couldn't help but notice her exhaustion and ill pallor.

Clary had retold the story to them and the entire time, Aline was curled in a chair and wouldn't stop sobbing as she dropped her head between her knees. Alec sat awkwardly in the chair beside her and patted her back. Magnus was staring out the window thoughtfully. Isabelle was sitting opposite Aline, Simon behind her as he pressed her shoulders. A dozen other council members and the downworld leaders were surrounding them, with the exception of Kaelie who'd probably scarpered off after the ball was interrupted. Each was muttering their disbelief and rage but none were as furious as Jace.

"You may have saved my life Clary." Jia Penhallow said gravely over Aline's whimpers. Clary turned to face the Consul, her grip tightening on Jace's arms and she nodded once.

"Well I think it's high time we had a discussion with the Seelie Queen." Maryse said tersely. "This betrayal of our own confirms the kidnappings and murders of our people at their hand. This means war."

"There's no discussing with the Seelie Queen." Magnus said darkly, leaning against the window. "She won't admit to anything, this certainly means war."

"Can't we track the Blackthorn girl? She is half Shadowhunter although that wretched Judas does not deserve to have our angel blood." Robert said with extreme distaste that seemed to trigger a wail from Aline.

"Would you mind if Clary and I are excused?" Jace said loudly over what was the beginning of a very lengthy and heated debate. 16 year old Jace probably would have fought tooth and nail to be involved in this conversation. But now he wanted nothing more than to sweep Clary away from this mess and shield her from these vultures.

"Certainly not there is much to discuss and Clary knows the most about the half blood Judas - " Robert said seriously before Isabelle cut him off.

"Go." she said, barely acknowledging her father's critical glare.

Jace couldn't bring himself to even look at Aline, he felt terribly for her loss. The loss that came with the realization that she didn't really _know _Helen at all. This was worse than mourning.

He hurried Clary out of the office as more chaotic discussions broke out. She seemed to furl up into his blazer as she allowed him to guide them back to their room.

Jace was battling between extreme relief and anger as they finally reached their room. Clary tugged off her dress, stripping down to her undergarments as she kicked the dress away from her bitterly. Jace moved closer to her and she allowed him to help her into more comfortable clothes. How close had he come to losing her tonight?

Clary seemed to move in a haze as she buried herself into the blankets and stared blankly up at the ceiling. Jace traded his ridiculous monkey suit for a pair of grey sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed and she turned her gaze to meet his.

"Just say it." she sighed, throwing an arm across her forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" Jace blurted. He kept his tone controlled and level as he watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. He couldn't filter the hurt out of his voice.

"You would have been completely distracted and paranoid tonight and I just wanted to save you some of the burden." she said quietly.

"I was completely distracted _and _paranoid tonight because I was so damn worried about you!" Jace exclaimed, shaking his head with incredulity. "And we could have prevented Helen from going into the portal if I had been with you, God Clary I don't understand you."

"I'm sorry." she said weakly, pressing her head harder into her pillow. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Damn right you didn't." Jace huffed indignantly as he watched her lower her arm and peer at him warily. "You scared the crap out of me tonight."  
She gave him a small smile and reached her hand out to him. "I know."

He grasped her hand and slid into the sheets beside her, securing an arm around her waist. Jace fell into a broken sleep, his dreams plagued with Clary's blood stained dress and the face of the half blood Judas.

Author's Note

Sooooooo how do we feel? Helen...I know…

Let me know your thoughts :)


	10. Chapter Ten: War Cries and Bloody Lies

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_I'll lower the wards while everyone's at the ball. Don't worry I have this under control." a voice said crisply, breaking Clary out of her sleep. "Hopefully in the panic and confusion of the demon raid we can capture the Consul Penhallow and we'll get our answers. Have your men ready, I'm going to the control room around 7."_

_She could see a flash of panic across Helen's piercing green eyes. "I'm fine really - I just need to go - "_

"_To the control room?" Clary finished. This time the shock was plain on Helen's features before she laughed darkly, quietly._

"_They took my brother." Helen said, her voice tinged with pain now. Clary was surprised to see tears prick her eyes as the girl stared up at her desperately willing her to understand. "The Wild Hunt took my brother and the Seelie Queen can get him back - "_

"_Well I think it's high time we had a discussion with the Seelie Queen." Maryse said tersely. "This betrayal of our own confirms the kidnappings and murders of our people at their hand. This means war."_

* * *

"It's been years of companionship and coexistence…. it's a shame to see it end this way." Alec's voice boomed across the field.

The Seelie Queen's lip curled at him from the other side of the massive field and she clasped her hands together in front of her. "It was never an equal companionship. The Nephilim have always been prejudiced against us, and tolerated our existence. It's a shame it took the Clave this long to figure it out."

It was nearly 3am in the morning and the air was brisk and unforgiving. The Seelie Queen had agreed to meet the Clave for a final civil discussion in a neutral mundane field. Jace stood silently at Alec's flank, slightly closer to him than the rest of the Shadowhunters in attendance. But he could feel their hatred and tension emanating from behind him.

"We've been nothing but cooperative with all our downworlder allies." Alec said stiffly. "I don't suppose you have anything to say for yourself? Anything you could say to justify the kidnap, torture and murder of our people?"

The Seelie Queen's chin jut out slightly and she cocked her head to the side, her devilishly innocent smile flashing back at them. "I cannot explain a simple concept to those who have already made up their minds about our character. No matter what I say to you now, you are all prepared to label the fair folk as the enemy in history. And that is the Nephilims' flaw. You can preach all you'd like about our alliance and our equality, but the manner in which you _act _and the way in which you _lead, _suggests that Nephilim blood is superior."

Alec seemed at a loss for words. A gust of wind blew across the yard and Jace saw Alec's hair ruffle in his eyes as he stared regretfully across the field. The skies were clouding gray and dark blue, Jace could feel the heaviness in the air.

"Are you admitting that you have been plotting this for a long time?" Alec finally said.

"This separation in our alliance was inevitable. The final straw was Jonathan Morgenstern. For the first time in over a hundred years, the fair folk experienced how we _ought _to be treated. Jonathan did not treat as scum or an unwelcome house guest. And that made all the difference." she said crisply. The Seelies standing behind their queen shifted and murmured in agreement.

"It's a shame for it to come to this…" Alec said gravely. Jace knew how much Alec hated to have to do this. Jace himself, who always thirsted and sought for blood and a fight, felt strangely unnerved by this.

"This means war." he said loudly, his voice ringing clearly in the field. The seelies behind their queen hollered their appreciation and bared their teeth at them. Jace's hands were already clasped around his seraph blade but Alec held a hand up to stop the Shadowhunters.

"Long live the hunt." the queen's voice echoed with a terrible finality as the seelies cried out. The ground beneath the seelies cracked open, sending spatters of dirt flying towards the Shadowhunters as they disappeared from sight.

* * *

_Chaos._

That was the only word capable of encapsulating the aftermath of their meeting with the seelies. Clary wasn't even sure what everyone was panicking about. It wasn't like the seelies were going to charge at them that same day while they were running amuck in the Institute.

The Queen's War (as the Clave had decided to call it) was like nothing she had ever seen before. When they had fought Valentine or Jonathan, Clary had been much younger and she often had to fight and plot without the knowledge or support of the Clave. Now that Isabelle, Alec and Magnus had power within the Clave, Clary could feel the difference with this war. It would be more meticulously planned. More organized and strategic with the full might of the Clave behind them as well as an abundant source of weaponry.

Despite these advantages that better prepared them for the fight, there was something more sinister and ominous about this war.

Three days passed and Clary was subjected to nearly 36 hours of council meetings and debates. She was never interested in the political aspect of the Shadowhunter world but she felt obligated to participate given that her brother was the reason they were having another war. Even in death, Jonathan was stirring all sorts of trouble. Jace seemed completely in his element and even led the war strategy meetings. Clary had always been in awe of his warrior mind and ability to devise the best course of attack or defense.

He left the meeting room for the first time in nearly 17 hours when Isabelle demanded that he take part in his own patrol protocols. Jace begrudgingly withdrew from his precious battle plans and argued with Raj until he switched shifts so that Jace could patrol with Clary.

"If only Alec would just let us make the first move." Jace muttered, spinning his seraph blade between his deft fingers. "But he insists that the seelies should make the first attack because they started this."

They were strolling down a bustling street in Manhattan. Jace had convinced the others that it was necessary to extend their patrols beyond the Institute walls and into the mundane world.

Many had protested against stretching their people out, but Isabelle had agreed because their duty was to protect the mundanes and themselves from the dangers of their world.

"The New York Institute is a high risk target." Jace continued, his eyes subconsciously scanning the street as they walked against the tide of the crowds eager to beat rush hour. "But so is Idris. Jonathan and the Seelie Queen have personal connections with both those places. Idris is our homeland which makes it the golden spot for destruction…"

"Do you think this means the kidnappings will stop?" Clary asked as they approached the heart of the city.

Times Square was blaring with music and billboard lights that flashed ridiculous ads and promotions. Teenagers were dancing shamelessly by a man playing the drums, several couples were groping each other against the store wall and food booth handlers were sweating profusely as they handed out orders.

"I think they won't bother to be so careful about it anymore. There's no need to hide their identity, in fact now they have free reign to go bolder." Jace replied grimly as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. A tipsy woman and her girlfriend had bumped into his shoulder in their attempt to stay glued at the lips.

"By the angel - " Clary breathed, her eyes widening as she gazed in horror at the billboards.

Where there was once a model giving a pouty look in her skin tight skirt, was a Shadowhunter on his knees, blood dribbling down from his chin. Jace stopped abruptly and his eyes followed hers to what appeared to be live footage streaming on the billboard. The mundanes around them carried on obliviously as two seelie guards moved to stand on either side of the kneeling man.

"Where is that?" Jace whispered anxiously, his stele tracing over his far-sighted rune. "It looks familiar…"

Clary couldn't bring herself to respond as the seelie guard grinned wickedly at the camera before bringing his sword down in a clean arc that beheaded the kneeling man. Clary cried out, her hand reaching out as if she could stop the blade from caressing the skin on the back of the man's neck. Jace stood equally as horror struck beside her, his eyes filled with the deepest loathing and revulsion.

The seelie guard turned once to smile back up at the camera before the billboard switched back to a broadcast of the pouty model.

"We should head back." Jace said quickly, pushing her towards the sides of the square. The heart of the city now felt rather suffocating as mundanes bumped into her and their trills of chatter rang with unbearable clarity in her ears.

A knot twisted in the depths of her stomach as they wound their way through the congested streets before reaching a side alley. They were silent as they walked back to the Institute. The night air no longer felt warm against her skin, but it seemed to crawl and tease her vulnerable exposure to the outside world. She couldn't help glancing over her shoulder every few feet.

"Alec you won't believe what we just saw in Times Square, a Shadowhunter was beheaded - " Jace exclaimed as they burst through the doors of the Institute.

"The head of the Bangkok Institute was just hanged - " Alec said at the same time. It was almost comical if the situation weren't so dire. Alec and Jace stood nearly 5 feet apart both their mouths agape as they stared intensely at each other, understanding passing through their eyes.

Clary moved to stand beside Isabelle who was leaning warily against a table that projected a map of the city. It was few moments later before Alec and Jace seemed to finish their silent discussion before they joined them.

"Publicized Shadowhunter killings? That's a pretty ruthless first move to me - " Jace began.

Alec shook his head firmly. "We've sent word to all the Institutes across the world. Until we have a better understanding of the kind of fight we're up against - "

"What part of publicized Shadowhunter _slaughters _doesn't give you a clear indication of the fight we're up against - " Jace argued vehemently.

"It's a game, remember?" Clary interrupted. "Can't you imagine how gleeful she must be to see us all struggling to counter or figure out her next move? If the Seelie Queen wants to play we'll play."

"And how do you suggest we play?" Alec asked sarcastically. "Should I find a large dice?"

"Don't be so callous." Jace snapped, shooting his parabatai a scalding look that was returned with equal annoyance.

"I think we should take back what's ours. There were many more Shadowhunters kidnapped, beyond the corpses we found littered around the city. We should track them down." Clary said simply.

"I agree with Clary." Isabelle said, breaking the drawn out silence. "We need to reclaim what's ours."

* * *

" 'In the early stages of the Queen's War, vines and plants have overtaken the city. Mundanes are not blind to the new installments on New York's architecture. Mundane news reports claim this is an outbreak of a new invasive species that seems to grow with unprecedented speed and is unreactive to any botanist remedy. Shadowhunters know better; this is a mark of the seelies. ' " Magnus read aloud before lowering the Idris Insider newspaper and peering at the others.

Jace stared out the window of the Institute and drank in the city's new attire. Every building in sight was twined with gnarly and thick vines that hugged the structure with the affection of an anaconda around its prey. The roads were woven and threaded through with ugly plants that made the cars jerk as they drove over them. New York had become a city of the wild.

"The only seelie dimension that even has the remotest traces of particulates is the Middle Ages dimension you already visited." Aline said with disappointment as she sagged against the lab table.

Jace felt a twinge of sympathy and respect as he saw her eyes burn with unshed tears, her hand gripping the microscope tightly.

Clary must have noticed too because she reached a hand out to rest over Aline's. "You don't have to stay for these parts, we understand - "

"No." Aline murmured, her voice laced with pain that Jace associated with loss and grief. "We have to figure this out so I can see _her _again and… and… give her back her family ring before arresting her for treason."

Everyone seemed at a loss for words so no one tried to comfort Aline. Afterall, there was nothing any of them could offer her. When Jace thought he had lost Clary, the only comfort he had was the fire for justice and vengeance.

"We searched every part of that damned palace." Isabelle said, her brow crinkling with concentration. "We couldn't find anywhere where they might have kept the Shadowhunters."

"You have to think and trace over every square inch of that place." Magnus prodded, his fingers tapping lightly on the counter. "No detail is insignificant."

Jace seemed to have two separate trains of thought. Half of his was engaged in the tiresome conversation that recircled every dreadful part of the ball. The other half was fixated on Clary. She was bent slightly over the microscope, switching out swabs of particulates as she trained her eye over the tiny eye piece.

Early on in their relationship, he'd learned that it was best to never underestimate her capabilities. And he didn't. But this new war was nothing they had ever faced before. He couldn't help but wish she would take a backseat role in this. Jace knew with irritating certainty that she would never even entertain the idea.

Still, the idea was appealing to him. The Seelie Queen's character was different from that of Valentine and Jonathan. Valentine was driven by passion and a warped sense of morality and duty. Jonathan had a twisted sense of family and desire for companionship that made his behaviour predictable and reckless. The Seelie Queen had lived for thousands of years and was not playing by any agenda or rules. She was the puppet master and they were her puppets.

The sound of a telephone broke Jace out of his reverie and he swivelled his head to Isabelle who pulled her phone out and pressed it to her ear. She remained silent as the other end spoke in rapid French and Jace could understand a few of the phrases.

"_L'institut de Londres a tomb_é - " The London Institute has fallen.

"_Les Seelies sont entr_és dans _la nuit - " _ The seelies entered in the night.

"_Nous n'avons pas assez de gens pour aider - " _We don't have enough people to help…

Isabelle replied in flawless French as Jace leaned his head against the cool window. Hell was breaking loose everywhere.

Isabelle turned to face the others her face composed but her eyes tightened with fear. "The seelies invaded the London Institute at night and knocked them out with a gas - probably similar to the one that they used on us. The Paris Institute doesn't have enough people to send to London so they asked us to help since we're taking a lead on this…"

"London is 5 hours ahead of us." Alec said, glancing down at his watch. "We can't send everyone by portal but we'll send at least 50 to help sort things out."  
"We can't portal." Isabelle said, her face paling as she gripped her ruby necklace. "The Paris Institute got a notification from the alarm system that's linked with the London Institute, indicating their wards were down and their head sent a message about the gas. But nobody knows how many seelies are there, if they left or if there are survivors. We just know the wards were lowered. If we portal into the Institute then we risk being exposed to the same gas and knock ourselves out."

"That's why it took longer for the Clave to send help when we were under gas lock down." Alec explained, twisting his wedding ring around his finger.

"Then we portal to somewhere close by - " Simon suggested but Magnus shook his head.

"Until we know the magnitude of their invasion, we shouldn't portal within the city. It could be a trap. Looks like you Nephilim will be travelling the mundane way."

"I'd rather inhale the gas." Jace scoffed, crossing his arms with disbelief. Surely there was a better alternative to travelling the _mundane _way.

"Well I'm not giving you that option." Alec sighed, eyeing Jace with apprehension. "Clary you know how to er… travel like mundanes right?"  
Clary seemed amused by their lack of knowledge on the subject as she nodded.

"Well you can lead 25 of the Shadowhunters through the er… mundane system and I'll ask the Paris Institute to make up the other 25 and meet you all there." Alec said, already moving to leave the room.

"Helen's siblings live at the London Institute!" Aline said with alarm, her face constricted with disbelief and pain. "How could she do that to them?"  
"She probably wanted to get them back or something," Isabelle assured uncertainly. "She obviously loves her siblings, this means the gas was probably harmless."

Aline didn't look the least bit relieved but allowed herself to be guided away from the lab by Isabelle. Clary suddenly appeared at Jace's side and glanced up at him quizzically.

"Do you own something other than black?"

Jace groaned internally. Mundanes couldn't travel in black?

* * *

Clary had a perfect understanding of why Shadowhunters portaled everywhere; They were the worst travellers. Having the responsibility of guiding 25 Shadowhunters through a mundane infested airport was simply torturous.

"Please tell me everyone has drawn their glamour runes over _all _the weapons they've packed." Clary called to their group as they stood in the queue for the metal detector. The Shadowhunters behind her all nodded wearily, staring at her like her request was bewildering.

"I don't understand why that was necessary." Jace grumbled into her ear. "We already had to pack them away since you insisted we couldn't wear them."

The line shuffled forward and Clary grappled for the last of her patience as she turned to look at Jace. "Most travellers don't pack blades, daggers and knives into their luggage and unless you want to be arrested for carrying a weapon across the border, no weapons belt."

He looked as if she had just told him that his dog had died. Clary rolled her eyes as they reached the front of the line. She didn't bother giving instructions to the others and assumed they would follow her lead as inconspicuously as possible.

Clary pulled her shoes off and tossed it alongside her carry on into a gray tray which was prodded down the moving line for scanning. She eyed the Shadowhunters peering at her curiously from the queue as she strolled through the metal detector. There were audible gasps of amazement as the light flashed green and she was ushered onwards.

If she weren't so stressed about bringing 25 Shadowhunters across the world via plane, she would have found their reactions humorous.

"First time travelling abroad?" the security guard asked Clary as he waved for Aline to come through. She looked terrified as she inched a toe into the metal detector. Clary snorted to herself as Aline half ran through the detector. How could these people face death and demons with a lazy smile but cross a metal detector as if it were a gate to hell?

"Is it that obvious?" Clary replied wryly as she shouldered her bag and checked their boarding pass. They were travelling under the guise that they were heading off on a destination wedding which forced her to play a happy fiance as Jace stood dazed beside her.

"Okay let's walk towards terminal 1 gate 7." Clary called to the others as she led the way down the crowded path. Their flight was set to depart at 10:00am and they had been racing to the airport to make it. Passports had to be forged for all 25 of them and tickets had to be purchased. Clary suspected Magnus had a role in magicking up availability on the flight.

Her eyes were glued to the boarding ticket and travel information as she revised their story and their plan in her head when Jace's voice broke her concentration.

"Are you sure we're at the right gate?" he asked slowly.

"Of course I'm sure." she snapped before raising her head. She stopped short as the sign for gate 7 flashed a message. _Flight 3465 with services to London, England has relocated to gate B34._

"Oh hell." she whispered with dread as she turned to address the others. "I hope you're all up for a morning workout."

Without another word to address their startled expressions, she bolted in the other direction and began pushing people out of the way as she tore towards the other terminal. She could hear the cusses of the mundanes as the massive group of Shadowhunters raced across the airport. Clary tried not to think of how alarming they must appear to outsiders.

Their flight had surely boarded by now and she couldn't bear the thought of being stranded in the airport and being scrutinized by the mundanes. Her chest was burning from exertion and mercifully, the sign for gate B34 loomed in front of them.

The flight attendants were moving to seal off the connector but stopped with surprise as she hurtled towards them. She was fumbling for her passport which she half shoved into their hands.

"Cutting things a little close aren't we… Clarissa Fairchild?" the woman asked, frowning at her name. She didn't press the matter as Clary pocketed the passport and bounded into the connector.

"Clary?" Jace asked, jogging to keep pace with her.

"I know I should have checked sooner to see if our gate was the same." Clary amended, reaching up to tie her hair in a knot.

"No it's not that." he said, his voice trailing off at the end. "You're sure these mundane death contraptions are safe right?"

Clary was surprised to find herself laughing as she grabbed his hand and towed him down the connector to the plane. They had the majority of the back half of the plane to themselves and Clary settled into a seat by the window as Jace slid in next to her.

She couldn't help but watch his face as he stared out the window in amazement. The sun was piercing through the clouds as the plane rose into the air. It's golden rays streaked into the window and lit up his face in the most angelic and pure way. Surely this was what heaven looked like…

The Shadowhunters around them were all chattering in excitement, muttering in awe as the plane levelled out. The flight attendants cast them strange looks as they offered their group drinks.

"Sir you still need to have your seatbelt on." a portly looking flight attendant said to Jace. His face was wrinkled with sincere concern and apprehension as he patiently waited for Jace to acknowledge his request.

"I don't wear belts." Jace said, returning the man's baffled look. Clary wanted to hide her face in embarrassment as she reached over to strap Jace into his seat.

"Thank you." the man said slowly before retreating to his cabin with some of the other flight attendants who were whispering and shooting them all furtive looks.

Jace turned to stare at Clary his brow creased in confusion and Clary just shook her head, leaning against his arm as she closed her eyes in an attempt to escape the chaos.

* * *

London was every bit as beautiful as Jace had imagined it. In the books, they always described the scenery as bleak and rainy. Today, London was glowing with the setting sun and the city life was alive with mundanes strolling down the streets, bistro signs glinting with brightness and cars cruising along the worn roads.

It seemed that London was also a victim to the seelies plant attack as the same ugly vines crawled up the sides of the tiny square buildings. It didn't take away from the storybook aura of the city.

It was nearly 6:30 and the night life seemed to be beginning. Clary led them away from the main hub of the city and down a secluded road that he assumed led to the London Institute.

Clary stopped suddenly in front of a tall and grand building that cast a shadow over them. This was obviously the London Institute as the mundanes around them walked by without a shadow.

Aline headed the team of Shadowhunters going in first with full hazmat protection on to disassemble the source of the gas leak and check for lingering seelies.

Clary looked as if she wanted to say something to him, her green eyes blazing with recklessness and mischief, a look he was both wary and fond of. Before he could nag her to say something, Aline emerged from the oak doors, her hazmat mask lowered.

"It's safe to come inside." she said before disappearing back into the darkness. They followed after her and was immediately greeted by the sight of collapsed bodies scattered across the floor.

"Are they…?" Clary started, bracing herself by gripping the front of Jace's shirt.

"No they're breathing. We're not quite sure why the seelies left them alive but I guess we'll find out when they wake." Aline said sourly before joining Raj who was crouched beside a man beginning to stir.

Jace was more interested in what they were wearing. It was barely noticeable over their sprawled figures and distraught faces but their attire was certainly cause for suspicion. They weren't donning the traditional shades of black but rather old and elegant gowns with frills that sent a spike of unease down his spine.

"Look at their clothes." he murmured, crouching beside a fallen woman.

Clary frowned over his shoulder, her eyes darkening as understanding crashed on both of them. "They're from the middle ages…"

"Jace, Clary." Aline beckoned them over to where a man sat up, blinking blearily around him. "This is Arthur Blackthorn." she stuttered on his last name as she drew an iratze on his forearm.

"You're the head of the institute?" Jace clarified, crossing his arms as he moved closer to the man. He was still disturbed by the strange attire of the British Shadowhunters.

"Yes. They set the alarms off in the middle of the night. Before we all went unconscious, they gave us a message to share with the rest of the Nephilim." Arthur said hoarsely. " 'Crash my ball, I'll crash yours.' "

There was no need for further explanation. Jace wasn't surprised that the Seelie Queen had retaliated so dramatically. He supposed he should have expected it. At least no one died this time?

"I'll notify Alec and Isabelle." Aline said feebly, clearly trying to extricate herself from Arthur Blackthorn who showed a striking resemblance to his niece Helen. Or the half blood Judas as the papers had been calling her these days.

After a few hours of scouting the London Institute and assisting the British Shadowhunters to either their rooms or the infirmary, Jace wandered away from the hectic ops center in search of the weapons room. Blades always had a calming effect on Jace.

"Jace!" Clary called from the opposite end of the hall. Several heads turned to shoot her an appraising look as she darted towards him, the glimmer of excitement back in her eyes.

"I don't think the British Shadowhunters are as lax as we are in New York." he grinned as she stopped beside him with a crazed expression.

"How do you feel about a swim?" she said breathlessly.

Jace raised an eyebrow at her, unsure if she were joking or speaking in a strictly metaphorical way. "A swim?"

Clary rolled her eyes at his slow response. "You know, in water?"

"They have a pool here!" Jace exclaimed with envy in his voice. Maybe he should transfer here instead.

"No of course not." Clary sighed, pulling him towards the main entrance of the Institute.

"Clary it's nearly 12 am." Jace said, allowing himself to be pulled into the dark night. Either he was extremely slow as a result of exhaustion or Clary was being incredibly confusing on purpose.

"I know that." she said waspishly as she began a quick paced stride down the empty street. He trailed after her with amusement. "Have you ever heard of Hyde Park?"  
"I have." Jace replied slowly, watching as she paused beside the road allowing several cars to drive by before dashing across the street. He wanted to scold her for being so reckless but he bit his tongue and sprinted after her.

Clary stopped by the edge of the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park. The moon was glistening off of the surface of the water, illuminating her gorgeous face. The willow trees in the background swayed lightly in the air and somewhere in the distance Jace could hear the faint sound of late night cafe music.

"Look I know we're in the middle of a war right now but this is our first time in London and it's beautiful and picturesque and Isabelle's on the way here so there's nothing more for us to do at the Institute - " she rambled before he pulled her close against his chest and kissed her hard.

Her arms snaked around his neck and her fingers became entangled with his windblown hair. Jace could smell the sweetness of her skin as his lips trailed down the side of her neck. He gripped the bottom of her gear shirt and tugged it over her head in a swift motion, baring her soft skin to the cool night.

Then there was a sudden urgency to their movements as articles of gear and weapons were being tossed onto the grass, all while trying to stay locked at the lips. Jace grew impatient as he kicked their clothes out of the way and hoisted Clary up around his waist.

She shrieked at the sudden movement, tensing against his arms as the water tickled their skin. He waded in further, rubbing his hands against the sides of her arms to keep her warm.

He broke off their kiss, gasping for air as he turned a suspicious eye to their surroundings. "Are you sure we're alone?"

Clary smirked and traced his jaw lightly with her finger. "Don't tell me you're feeling self conscious."

He craned his neck lower and nipped her ear gently. "Actually, I'm feeling rather protective, wouldn't want anyone seeing you naked."

She snorted and pulled his face back towards her, pressing her lips fiercely against his. Jace's head was spinning as he held the side of her small face, while his other hand wandered down her luxuriously soft legs.

It was simply maddening, the way her lips shaped his name or the way her careful fingers traced the scars lining his arms and back. He struggled for purchase as he crushed them closer, drinking in the smell of her intoxicating hair, losing himself in her piercing green eyes.

No matter how many times he kissed her or touched her, it would never be enough. It was like he was dying and every second with Clary restored an infinitesimally small fraction of his soul.

Maybe he was just a selfish or greedy man, but there was nothing he wouldn't trade for a thousand more moments like this.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Isabelle snapped the instant Clary and Jace reentered the London Institute. Damn it, Clary thought guiltily. She'd hoped their disappearance had gone unnoticed, afterall it was nearly 2:00 in the morning.

Isabelle eyed their wet hair and her expression became half disapproving and half unsurprised. "Never mind, don't answer that. I got here an hour ago and Alec had a miraculous epiphany while I was portalling here. He tried to call Jace but apparently Jace was preoccupied."

Clary had the decency to look remorseful but Jace just grinned at his sister as his tall frame leaned against a post.

"What was my dear brother's epiphany?" he asked nonchalantly, running a hand through his messy hair.

Isabelle looked like she was struggling to restrain herself from slapping him as she responded in a terse tone. "We searched every part of that palace during our visit to the other dimension. Except the stage you two fought on."  
Jace's posture changed immediately, his eyes widening as he moved closer to them. "Well let's go! What are we waiting for?"

"Well we were giving _the two of you_ another 30 minutes before we left without you. Alec thought it was best if the three of us were present when we raid the palace, since we've already been there." Isabelle said pointedly, drawing out another blush in Clary.

She felt slightly guilty that she didn't feel guilty for escaping with Jace. It was a bath as much as it was other things… surely personal hygiene was an acceptable excuse to be absent during a war?

Within 20 minutes, the 25 Shadowhunters they had travelled with, alongside 25 British and French Shadowhunters, stepped through the portal leading back to the Middle Ages dimension. Clary inhaled sharply, squeezing the daggers in her hand tightly as she emerged into the familiar landscape.

The sun was breaking through a patch of thick clouds as the blasted palace loomed over them with morbid welcome. Their group was silent as the night as they crept along the hedges blocking them from the view through the tall windows. Isabelle headed the team as she kicked the door of the palace open with her boot and unleashed her deadly whip.

Clary supposed there was no need for subtlety like last time as they began to run into the palace, shouts of surprise and anguish ringing in her ears.

As soon as the massive hall surrounded her, her eyes drank in the scene. Isabelle, Aline, Raj and Arthur Blackthorn had surrounded a group of unsuspecting seelie guards who gazed around in shock at their sudden ambush. One of them stumbled around in his haste to stand up, before accidently kicking his beer bottle to the ground.

The others fanned out around them, moving into the hidden corridors to scout the palace.

Clary moved towards Jace who was walking cautiously across the floor of the stage. His feet were feeling out every inch of the wooden platform, he paused here and there to press his hand against the ground, feeling for hidden hatches.

Clary shuddered as she recalled the last time they had been sentenced to die on the wretched stage. The eagerness of the seelie crowd as the queen lounged cheerfully in her throne. The reluctance and unwillingness of Alec and Jace to harm each other. Then the sickening moment Clary had had to confront Jace with her sword…

A sudden flash of movement drew her attention to the balcony that wrapped around the upper level of the hall. Her hands moved for her sword as she flung herself onto the stage after Jace. She shot her sword out and a resounding splinter of wood rang throughout the hall.

An arrow had shattered into a thousand pieces as her sword blocked it from hitting it's mark; Jace. The balcony was filled with seelie guards who rained their arrows down on them. The Shadowhunters who had been searching the upper level charged to meet the attackers.

Screams of rage echoed unpleasantly in her ears as Clary did her best to slash away the arrows that came within a frighteningly close proximity to them. Jace was speeding up his pace around the stage but trusting that Clary could save him from a stealthy arrow.

Several brave seelies from the top floor made the daring leap to land on the floor in front of the stage. Clary cast a worried glance in Jace's direction, feeling consumed with dread as she was forced to leave his back undefended.

A tall, heavily muscled seelie raised his spear to strike her and she just barely managed to block him with her own sword. Her muscles shook slightly under strain as she turned to the side to aim a sharp kick to the man's chest.

She didn't even bother to see if he had fallen as another stout and stocky seelie slashed across her leg with his spear. Clary winced as blood trailed down her calf but she ducked his next swing and plunged her sword into his abdomen.

He cried out in pain as Clary dodged a third man's spear and used the dying seelie's body to shield her own. The third seelie's eyes widened in surprise when his spear drove into his fellow guard's chest. Clary used his initial shock to swipe her leg out and knock him off his feet.

As he crashed to the floor, she threw one of her daggers at the tall heavily muscled seelie who's return assault was halted as the blade struck his forehead.

Clary swallowed her disgust as she used the third seelie's own spear to dig into his chest. Clary spun back to the stage where Jace was hacking his seraph blade against a wooden box. Another seelie was charging towards Jace's turned back and she found herself racing to beat him there.

It was imperative that they rescue their people. This mission was not just another battle in a long and terrible war. It was justice.

Clary was certain that the box Jace was destroying hid something or someone beneath it. Why else would the seelies target them over the other Shadowhunters in the hall that were slowly arresting or killing the other guards?

Panic began to bubble in her chest as the seelie closed in and Clary fumbled for her second dagger before throwing her arm forward in an arcing motion that sent the dagger into the seelie's back. He fell to his knees as blood pooled around his clothing.

There was something more _wrong _and evil about killing seelies than there was in killing demons. The seelies were people, former allies who had souls and families that she had just sentenced to years of unbearable grief. But they were also moral creatures who had to know that their actions were despicable and treacherous.

Clary skidded to a halt by Jace and the demolished box as he reached a hand to the bottom and pried a large handle which gave way under his strong grip.

She felt her breath catch as he opened the hatch to a large cellar, revealing at least a couple dozen Shadowhunters haphazardly bound and bleeding at the bottom.

Author's Note

-Surprise! I've written ahead to chapter 18 for this story, so I thought I'd upload sooner. Happy Mother's Day!

-Hope everyone's staying safe

\- Excuse my choppy French, I did my best with my limited ability to speak/write in French

-Sorry if some of the details about JFK or London are not 100% accurate, I did some research on it and left the rest to my imagination…

Lemme know your thoughts :)


	11. Chapter Eleven: Dream a Dream of Me

_It was impossible to feel this happy, surely it was a crime to be surged with so much joy in a world plagued with evil. If that were the case then Clary would be the most notorious criminal._

_The morning air cooled her skin as she restlessly turned to check the clock. It was only 7:00 am but sleep seemed like a punishment, not with the planning and preparations that needed attending._

_Silently, she slid out from the covers and shoved a pillow in place for her body into Jace's arms. His snores continued to fill the quiet morning as she slipped out of the door and bounded down the stairs. _

_She would start in the kitchen with a much needed cup of coffee and then she would finalize the complementary gift bags. Clary was running through her never ending list of tasks for the day when she crashed into a solid figure._

_Jonathan smiled sheepishly down at her, his bed hair all mussed at the back. _

"_What are you doing up?" they both said at the same time. Clary rolled her eyes as Jonathan skipped along behind her as she sought the coffee machine._

"_Cold feet?" Clary asked, pulling out two cups and spoons. Jonathan perched on the bar stool opposite her and propped his chin on his hand._

"_Of course not, I've been waiting for her to say yes for ages." he said, a faraway glint of dreaminess shining in his eyes. Clary eyed her brother over the edge of the coffee machine and frowned. _

_She'd always worried for her older brother. After their parents Valentine and Jocelyn died bravely in the Downworlders War, Jonathan had burdened the responsibility of taking care of their family. He graduated top of his class at Scholomance training academy and was the youngest Shadowhunter to be promoted to head of the LA institute. He and Jace had differing views on who was appointed youngest head of an institute, as Jace headed the New York Institute._

"_Don't say it," Jonathan sighed, noting her critical stare. He reached for an apple and picked at it feebly before raising his eyes to meet hers. "I love her Clary, I really do and I know you think I'm rushing into this but I'm ready, I've never been _so _ready."_

"_But what's the rush?" Clary blurted, pushing his cup to him. "You're only 20 and you've got this full career in front of you and you'd give up your position in LA just to follow her to London?"  
Jonathan stirred his coffee mildly before raising his eyebrow at her. "Says the one who got married at 17 and, are you telling me you wouldn't pick up and move to India if Jace was there?"_

_Clary clenched her jaw and turned to grab the bin of unfinished gift bags, mentally cursing Jonathan. This was the same argument he always brought up when this discussion arose._

"_You're just mad because you'll miss me." Jonathan said smugly, innocently taking a sip from his cup. "Your favorite brother, all the way in London."  
Clary had to muster all her strength to refrain from stomping her foot like a petulant child. "My only rotten brother."_

_Jonathan smiled charmingly at her from his seat. "Would you like to give your only rotten brother a hint of what Lydia's dress looks like?"_

_His eyes lit up at the very mention of his soon to be bride's name, the same way it did when he first introduced them. Clary could remember the first true smile Jonathan had after he'd travelled to London for an Inter Institute ball and returned with the love of his life._

_Lydia Branwell had previously been engaged and left at the altar by none other than Alec Lightwood. Clary and the rest of the New York Institute weren't her biggest fans but seeing her through Jonathan's eyes, forged a rather sisterly and strong bond between them. _

"_Never." Clary clipped, her hands expertly knotting the gift bags. "I'm confident you'll last another few hours till you can see it for yourself."_

_Jonathan's lovely green eyes clouded over as he stared at the bin of finished gift bags, a lazy and crooked grin spreading across his fine features._

_Clary rolled her eyes at her brother's lovesick behaviour. She could never bring herself to judge him too harshly for she gathered that she looked at Jace in a similar, ridiculously smitten fashion._

"_Am I driving the getaway car?" Jace drawled as he sauntered down the staircase and sidled over beside Clary. Jonathan's eyes narrowed as Jace's arms slinked around her waist and planted a very loud kiss on her cheek. He turned his golden eyes to Jonathan and grinned widely. _

"_You might need one for yourself if you don't stop groping my sister in front of me." Jonathan grimaced, taking a large gulp of his coffee._

_Jace and Jonathan had the most absurd relationship fueled with competitive testosterone stemming all the way from their days in Scholomance, to comradeship and respected soldiers._

_Showing no signs of heeding Jonathan's threat, Jace wound his arms tighter around her waist and craned his head around to seek her lips. Clary's hands dropped from her gift bags and gripped the waistband of his boxers to pull him closer, her other hand running up the face of his bare chest._

"_Where's my weapons belt?" Jonathan demanded loudly and Clary broke away from Jace hastily, reaching for the fallen gift bag._

_Jace looked nonplussed by Jonathan's murderous expression and licked his lips slowly. "Where's your coffee love, I think I could use a cup."  
Jonathan huffed at his indifference and lowered himself back into his seat, his eyes still following Jace's arrogant movements around the kitchen._

"_I'm sure young Jonathan, soon enough you will be able to kiss your wife every morning the same way I get to kiss mine." Jace assured as if he were speaking to a confused child. _

_Clary didn't bother looking up from her work to know that the low mutterings and curses were coming from Jonathan as he seethed over his coffee._

"_Careful, you'll get frown lines before the wedding." Jace warned, leaning on the counter beside Clary. _

_She shook her head at their childishness and tossed the last bag into the bin._

_Her brother's wedding was proving to be much more stressful than her own. She knew she was young but they were Shadowhunters and their lives were not following the same timeline as mundanes. When Jace had proposed on his 17th birthday, how could she refuse him? There would never be anyone else for her so what was the point in waiting?_

_They hadn't bothered with a fancy ceremony and decided to elope in Idris with a Silent Brother to officiate the wedding. Jonathan had never forgiven them for getting hitched behind his back. She could still remember the brawl that broke out in the ops center of the Institute when they walked in, hands clasped and wedding bands on their fingers. Then watching as her new husband received a nasty bruise at the angry hands of her brother. _

_Jonathan's case was different, he was upheaving his entire established career in LA to chase after a girl whom he had only known for less than 6 months. She didn't want to damper his soaring spirits, but she also didn't want to be tending to a future broken heart either._

"_Dadda is it time?" a sweet voice rang in the room, as a tiny strawberry blond haired girl clambered down the stairs and waddled her way towards Jace. She raised her arms expectantly and a buoyant smile spread across her small face as Jace hoisted her up into his arms._

"_For what love?" Jace asked with false confusion._

"_For the wedding!" she squealed, her pudgy fists grabbing hold of his hair. He threw his head back in laughter as he pecked the tip of her nose. _

"_Ask your grumpy uncle," he said wryly. The little girl peered over her father's shoulder and looked eagerly at Jonathan. His angry face broke instantly and a warm smile took its place._

"_C'mere monkey, you're gonna be the best damn flower girl right?" Jonathan said, swiping the girl from Jace's arms and spinning her around the room.  
_"_Language!" Clary scolded from behind the fridge door as she pulled out her daughter's milk bottle. All she could hear was Jonathan and her daughter's peals of laughter as they danced around the living room._

_Stephanie Celine Herondale had come into their lives within the first year of their marriage, more as an unplanned surprise. They had named her after Jace's father Stephen and mother Celine, who had also died in the Downworlders War, alongside her own parents._

"_I suspect she's the only Herondale he can stand." Jace said with bemusement as he took the milk bottle from her hand and threw it towards Jonathan who caught it without raising his head. _

"_Please be on your best behaviour today, and don't antagonize him too brutally on his wedding day okay?" she pleaded, raking her hands up and down his chest as she stood on the tip of her toes to meet his eyes._

_His smoldering gaze turned towards her and he pulled her against him. "Don't worry love, nothing I say is going to tarnish his precious nuptials."_

_His lips crashed against hers and her head swum with adrenaline as she gripped the back of his neck in an iron hold. If there were a way to fuse their bodies together permanently, surely they'd discovered it. _

"_You know, I pity poor Steph for having to put up with the two of you." Jonathan said loudly, breaking them apart for the second time that morning._

_Jace glowered at him, his arms still resting around her. "You're in my house Morgenstern, deal with it."_

"_Baby, come here let's go get ready and leave the boys to their shenanigans." Clary said mildly, untangling herself from Jace's arms and held her own out for her daughter._

_Stephenie bounded away from her uncle, some residual milk dribbling down her chin and hopped gracefully into Clary's arms._

* * *

"_Is Jordan with the kids?" Clary asked, as she sat impatiently in front of the mirror while Isabelle was whipping her hair into an elegant knot at the base of her neck._

"_Simon and James were driving me insane this morning." Isabelle ranted, her fingers tightening on Clary's hair as she continued to weave and pin. "I told Jordan to give them a bath and of course he had to take a call from the Praetor while they were in the tub and I walked by and water flooded the entire bathroom floor."_

_Clary smiled to herself at her parabatai's story. Her twin sons were the most mischievous pair she'd ever laid eyes on and they were only a couple of months older than Stephanie. Isabelle's fiance Jordan Kyle was a well respected instructor at the Praetor who always seemed to be split between his work and family._

"_That sounds like Jace and Jonathan this morning, I swear they're children in the bodies of grown men." Clary laughed, idly twisting the band around her ring finger._

"_To think a couple of years ago this was supposed to be Alec and Lydia's wedding." Isabelle said, sliding the last pin into place. "You should go tend to the stressed bride, I'll make sure Steph and Jace arrive there in one presentable piece."  
Clary shot her a grateful smile before grabbing her stele and darting down the stairs. Jonathan and Jace were still bickering on the couch as they sorted through Jace's ever growing stock of weapons. _

"_The short sword is ten times more sharp than the kindjal." Jonathan insisted, brandishing the short sword in a wide arc to emphasize his point._

_Jace snorted and stroked the sides of his favorite kindjal. "This could sever your carotid faster than you could say - by the angel." he said, his eyes following Clary as she scooped up the bin of gift baskets and fumbled with the door._

_He was on his feet and her side, trying to pry the bin out of her hands._

"_I've got it Jace," Clary said with exasperation as she shifted its weight to her right hip and opened the door. She turned back to the two men and sighed deeply. "Jonathan are you aware that today is your wedding?"_

_Jonathan reluctantly dropped the short sword onto the table and turned his attention to his sister. "Of course I'm aware."_

"_Then perhaps you should do something _useful _to help with your own wedding and consider getting dressed? Or do you plan on walking down the aisle in sweats?" Clary snapped, with one foot already out the door. She turned her gaze to Jace and wrinkled her nose. "And you should take a shower. I can still smell last night's demon kill on you."_

_Without another glance at their appraised faces, she bolted down the stone steps of their house and walked a brisk pace on the cobbled streets of Alicante. _

_The Branwell house was very close to the banquet hall they'd chosen for the wedding. Clary was trying her best to avoid drawing attention to herself but her red hair and long gown made her rather noticeable. Several Shadowhunters called out their congratulations to her and she longed to hide her face behind the gift basket bin. _

_Thankfully Lydia was not a frilly bride and had selected a simple pale gray color scheme, much to Magnus' chargain, and as a result Clary's bridesmaid dress was not fishing for even more unwanted eyes. The dress hung off her shoulder and the fabric crossed across her chest before flaring from her hips._

_Clary nearly cried with relief when she saw the grand Branwell residence looming at the end of the street. She neatly dodged several Shadowhunters on patrol by darting into a side alley and finally reached her destination._

"_Thank the angel you're here." Lydia exclaimed, swinging the door wide open and beckoning her inside. "Tell me Jonathan's dressed, we're running incredibly behind schedule."_

"_He's dressed." Clary lied, grimacing as she dropped the heavy gift basket onto the floor by the door. "Let's get you ready."  
Lydia was hysterical as she bustled around the manor in an attempt to give very specific last minute instructions to her relatives. Clary all but shoved her towards the bathroom and forced her into the seat in front of the vanity._

_This must be how Isabelle felt each time Clary was distracted by other things as she tried to get her ready. _

_Clary was blessed to have escaped the dreary responsibility of doing the bride's hair and makeup. Helen Blackthorn, the suggenes had shouldered the burden and was happily flitting around the room and holding up different veil options to Lydia._

_All Clary had to do was get her in the dress. It was a rather chic golden dress, embedded with glimmering jewels that ran down the close fitted length of the gown. It was something out of a fairytale._

_Jonathan owed Clary his first born child after all the trouble she'd gone through to put this day together. Clary had contemplated giving Lydia some much needed alcohol in a vain attempt to tame the anxious bride, but she figured her brother would not appreciate slurred vows._

_Clary only heard fragments of the ceremony as she was darting behind the scenes to keep the flowers girls in check._

_She did remember seeing her brother cry, which was something she wouldn't let him forget. _

_For the first time in the last 10 hours, Clary felt her breathing ease and her mind relax as she allowed herself to collapse into the love seat off to the side of the dance floor._

_Her eyes searched for the two familiar blond heads in the crowd. She smiled to herself as she saw Stephanie's tiny black buckled shoes propped on top of Jace's as they laughed together and danced to the music._

"_What a day," Jonathan said dazedly as he plopped onto the love seat next to her. He was holding a glass of champagne loosely in one hand and he appeared to have lost his blazer. "It's gonna be one hell of a night too." he winked at her and accidentally slurped some champagne onto his white button up dress shirt. _

_Clary snorted at his vain attempts to rub off the stain. "You're like a child, you know that?"_

"_Aw don't be like that sis, this is my one night to not be the serious, monotone Institute leader and I plan on getting drunk and laid and - "_

"_Stop stop stop stop." Clary waved him off with her hand and leaned away from him as he hunched over in laughter, spilling some more champagne onto the floor. Lydia appeared in the crowd and raised her eyes at her new husband and Clary eagerly left him for her to handle._

_She wandered towards the food table, seeking the chocolate fondue station for strawberry dipping when little Simon tottered over towards her. Peals of laughter came from the tiny human as he swerved around a waiter, causing his tray to nearly crash into the bride's mother. Simon squealed with jubilation as he ducked under a couple's arms as they danced and he was dodging his way past other guests. His twin brother James appeared behind the food table and swiped a massive chunk of the uncut wedding cake in his little fist and pelted after his brother._

"_James!" Clary and Jordan scolded at the same time. Jordan came to a stop beside her, heaving for breath as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt._

_Clary couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness as she remembered the inspiration for the name of one of Isabelle and Jordan's sons. _

_One day, Isabelle and Clary had been walking through Old Broadway and they were on the hunt for drevak demons. A mundane with mousy brown hair, a crooked smile and glasses was sitting at a bench outside Java Jones, talking animatedly to his friend. _

_All of a sudden a drevak demon appeared behind Clary and Isabelle and the mundane appeared to have the sight. He pushed them out of the way and took a full impact hit from the demon. _

_Clary and Isabelle managed to kill the demon but the mundane was already dead. His friend who did not have the sight must have just seen the man fall and rushed over screaming 'Simon'._

"_These boys are going to give me gray hair." Jordan huffed, placing his hands on his hips as he roved over the crowds for the little buggers. Clary was snapped back into reality and she patted his arm sympathetically before he bolted out from her touch and was screaming for the boys to put the garter down._

* * *

"_Can my wife spare me a dance?" a voice drawled from behind her._

_Clary turned to see Jace's silhouetted figure standing in between the doors that opened to a wide balcony overlooking Idris. _

"_Where's Stephanie?" Clary asked, wrapping her arms around herself and raising the wine glass to her lips. _

_He moved closer to her, his arms moving to either side of her and settling on the railing of the balcony. She leaned against him as the moon peaked out from behind a web of clouds._

_Below them, several tipsy Shadowhunters were stumbling around the front yard and wandering aimlessly through the streets. Their laughter sang of alcohol and good company as they began throwing patches of ripped grass at each other._

"_She's off on some 'mission' as she called it, with troublemaker 1 and 2." Jace replied, leaning his head against the side of hers. _

_Clary turned to give him a wary look. "Jordan or Isabelle better be watching them, who knows what they're up to. For all we know they could be swinging from the chandeliers or assaulting a council member - "_

"_Relax babe, they're fine." Jace said, his velvety voices sending shivers down her spine._

"_Isabelle or Jordan are watching them?" she prodded. Her mind was whirling with the endless list of naughty possibilities that they could be up to. _

_An unpleasant image of Stephanie and Simon playing with Jace's blades as James huddled fearfully in the corner, rose to the forefront of her mind. She always told Jace to place a locking rune for safety over his blades. _

_Jace shrugged and tightened his grip on the railing, caging her into his arms and the banister. "Last I saw, Isabelle and Jordan were stumbling up the stairs, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. You could say that they inspired me…" _

_Clary's grip over her wine glass tightened as Jace craned his head to press his lips against her neck. She inhaled sharply as he spun her around so her back was digging into the banister. _

_The tipsy shouts from below was joined by the sound of glass breaking. Clary hardly noticed as his lips continued their vicious assault down the front of her body._

_Her hand fisted the top of his hair and pulled his face back to hers. The wine glass slipped from her grasp and shattered to the floor. Jace's hands fumbled with the sides of her long gown, hitching them up to her thigh as he moved his soft lips against hers._

_The wine and his touch were intoxicating to Clary, as she pulled the top few buttons of his light blue dress shirt, the buttons popping off to join the pool of glass and wine at their feet._

_He moved one of her legs so it hugged his hips and he pressed his body closer so that it was almost welcomingly painful to have her back grating on the railing. _

_Her hair was falling out of its neat knot and tumbling around her shoulders as he cascaded her throat with tantalizingly pleasurable kisses. _

"_Oi can you two come take pictures? This day is still about me isn't it?" Jonathan's voice cut clearly across the balcony and Jace dropped his forehead onto her shoulder with an audible growl of frustration._

_Clary righted her dress and rubbed Jace's back empathetically as she felt a surge of annoyance with her brother._

"_Go on, we're right behind you." she said, giving him a cold look that seemed to convey her dismissal._

"_You know, your brother has a very irritatingly precise timing for his unwelcome visits." Jace grumbled, raising his head after giving her one last appreciative kiss on the collarbone._

"_Don't worry, let him have his day today, he'll owe us years of babysitting as repayment." Clary said, pulling him back towards the heat of the party._

_Jace's laughter was drowned out by the music that seemed to pulsate in beat with the drunken sway of the dance floor. Clary squinted into the strobe and disco lights and was taken aback to see Maryse leading a conga line in the center of the floor._

_Helen and Aline were behaving more wildly than she and Jace were. She wasn't sure if they really realized this was a wedding reception and not a strip club. _

"_Over here!" Jonathan's voice called from across the room, where he stood with Lydia in front of a backdrop with the Shadowhunter marriage rune twined with Clary's hand painted roses. _

_Jace was still muttering suggestions under his breath as Clary led them through the sporadic dining tables to the back where her brother and new sister in law stood._

_Clary felt relieved when she saw Stephanie, James and Simon skip into the reception hall, glitter seemed to cover their small bodies from head to toe._

_She pulled herself away from Jace's arms and moved to scoop up her daughter. She shuddered to think what these three had been up to with no supervision. _

"_Why are you covered in glitter young lady?" she asked, brushing some sparkly silver dust from her shoulder. No amount of hand brushing could perfectly rid her daughter's beautiful dress of its new coating. _

_Stephanie smiled cheekily up at her and pursed her little lips together, revealing a little dimple on her chin. "We went to find Uncle Alec and Uncle Magnus. Simon and James' mommy said they would watch us."_

"_And you found them?" Clary guessed, eyeing Simon and James with the same wary expression as they perched on the dining seats, licking some of the glitter off their hands. Jace appeared to be failing as he rubbed the boys' chubby hands with a dampened napkin._

_Stephanie nodded proudly, her head of strawberry blond curls bobbing up and down. "Mr. Underhill said they were in their room so we knocked on the door but there were strange sounds coming from inside. So we knocked again and Uncle Magnus peered out and he asked us what we wanted."_

_Clary was horrified as she listened to her daughter's adventure, unsure if she wanted to hear the rest._

"_James said we wanted a glitter party so he used his pretty magic to give us glitter! Then he closed the door and said go away." she recited, clearly thrilled with their glitter party._

_Clary turned to look at Jace who returned her exasperated stare as he had given up his attempt to clean his nephews hands._

"_Oh your Uncle Alec and Uncle Magnus and I are going to have words." Jace said lightly as he pulled Stephanie out of her arms and began tickling her glittered little body._

_She shrieked and kicked out her pudgy legs but they were no match for Jace's strong arms. His face was lit up with laughter as he used his mouth to blow large, ticklish kisses on Steph's arms. _

_Isabelle and Jordan appeared by her side, both looking incredibly disheveled and out of breath._

"_Why did you leave Alec and Magnus in charge of our children when they were clearly busy?" Clary demanded, unable to keep the hint of accusation out of her voice._

"_Because they wanted to get busy too." Jace cut in before either Isabelle or Jordan could. Isabelle rolled her eyes and flicked Jace in the back of the head before sliding into the seat next to him and pulling her sons into her lap._

"_My love, we seem to be the only ones unable to get busy." Jace said with an air of deep sorrow. "The price we pay for being responsible adults."  
Isabelle scoffed before she drank in the studs of glitter sticking to Simon's face. "Why does it look like a glitter gun exploded on them?"_

"_Why aren't any of you getting in our picture?" Jonathan interrupted, his blazer back on his shoulders and a half joking, half serious expression on his face._

"_Our sincere apologies Queen Jonathan, we were forced to slacken in our devotion to you in order to acknowledge our kids." Jace said snarkily, his free hand brushing off a thick patch of glitter on Stephanie's cheek._

_Before Jonathan could use the groom card again, Clary ushered them all towards the backdrop. Jonathan returned to his place beside his wife, Clary standing beside him. Stephanie was waving her glittered palm at the camera as she sat on the crook of Jace's arm. Isabelle and Jordan were on Lydia's other side, their twin boys struggling to stand still in front of them. _

_Clary was scolding Jonathan for his stained blazer out of the corner of her mouth, Stephanie had just smacked Jace on the cheek with her devious little hands, leaving a spatter of glitter on his face and Isabelle and Jordan were vainly trying to keep their boys still. _

_Just as the photographer was about to snap the photo, Magnus and Alec bounded into the room and popped their faces into the shot, knocking Jace into Clary who crashed into Jonathan who, in his wasted state, slammed into Lydia who toppled to the floor, as the camera clicked._

* * *

Clary jerked to a sitting position, inhaling sharp gulps of air. She was surprised to feel dampness on her cheeks as she kicked the blankets off. They were suddenly too warm and safe, like they deceived her into believing the world was right.

Jace stirred beside her, opening his eyes blearily and peering up at her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning on his elbow as he blinked to see her clearly in the darkness of their bedroom.

In the distance there was the faint sound of footsteps and chatter, not quite the same energy as the dance floor…

"Are you crying?" he asked, pushing himself to a sitting position. His hand groped for hers in the dark and clasped tightly around them. "What's wrong?"  
Clary sniffled and felt ridiculous as she hastily wiped at her face but she couldn't stop the tears from tracking down her face. Jace looked positively alarmed as he drew her closer to him, scanning her body for injuries which only succeeded in making her cry harder.

"Clary you're worrying me here." Jace said softly, his voice raising at the end as his eyes darted around the room suspiciously. "Tell me."

She wanted to slap herself for being so pathetic and weepy and tried to squeeze some words out but her throat constricted and the tears were flowing harder. His concerned and confused face seemed to only make her sob more as she buried her face in her knees.

"By the angel Clary, what is it?" he said frantically, pulling her so that she was on his lap.

"I… I had a… dream!" she cried, pressing her forehead deeper into her knees, completely aware of how foolish and childish she sounded.

Jace looked as if he were contemplating between calling for help from a mental institution and comforting her. He gave her awkward pats on the back as the door to their room suddenly burst open.

Raj looked harried as he switched on the lights abruptly causing Jace to cuss loudly as they were momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden brightness.

"Bloody hell Raj, did your mother ever teach you that it was polite to knock?" Jace snapped, still awkwardly rocking Clary in his arms as he glowered at Raj.

"The seelies launched an attack on the Italian Institute. We're going to join them, it's the first battle of the war."

Author's Note

\- Hey, I know this chapter was mostly an AU dream where Jonathan is good and stuff but it was in my notes for the story to include this as a chapter so I just went with it

\- Also the AU dream builds the story up for **deeper** things later on!

\- I'm almost done writing the story (20 chapters total), so I'm really excited for what's coming. Without giving away too much, chapters 1-9 were about the buildup to the war, chapters 10-15 are about the actual war, chapters 16-18 are about another type of battle and chapters 19-20 are the final battle :)

\- What do you all think?


	12. Chapter Twelve: Pawns at Play

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_This means war." Alec said loudly, his voice ringing clearly in the field. The seelies behind their queen hollered their appreciation and bared their teeth at them. Jace's hands were already clasped around his seraph blade but Alec held a hand up to stop the Shadowhunters._

"_Long live the hunt." the queen's voice echoed with a terrible finality as the seelies cried out. _

"_The Seelie Queen is playing a game. She has always loved to play games. She's toying with us, taunting us because she knows she has the upper hand. Leaving messages in corpses and vines, sending us on hunts all across the city as we scramble to catch the killers? She revels in our struggle. She's addicted to the game - the chase - the hunt." Magnus vented, _

"_The seelies launched an attack on the Italian Institute. We're going to join them, it's the first battle of the war."_

* * *

The plains of the valley were vast and stretched endlessly beyond what Clary could see. The sounds of swords clashing, metal grating against metal didn't even send shivers down her spine anymore. They had become too normal.

The green pasture was hardly recognizable after the last few days. The ongoing fight ravaged the beautiful land, splattering the green carpet with red and tearing up the earth from the roots.

Clary winced as she brushed her hair to one side of her neck and rested her forehead against the cool ground. Isabelle's stele was moving soothingly against the runes on her shoulder blade. Her tank top was riding up and sticking to her with sweat. Clary was certain her face was even less appealing.

"How much more time before we switch off?" Jace asked impatiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he flicked excess blood and gore off his blade.

Alec eyed his parabatai tiredly and checked his watch. "About 5 more minutes."

The New York Institute and the Italian Institute were taking shifts fighting the seelie armies who were attempting to take over the country. It was a good system that allowed each team to rest and recuperate, tend to the injured and pay tribute to the dead.

"Try using your left arm more this time." Isabelle advised, helping Clary sit up and handing her a bottle of water. "Your right arm might be a little stiff, the seelie got you pretty bad."

"Which one is he?" Jace demanded eagerly, his face alight with adrenaline as his sharp eyes roved over the plain. "I want him."  
Clary pushed herself to her feet, doing her best not to sway as her vision flashed in front of her. "He's mine." she said firmly, strapping her weapons belt around her hips.

Her hands shook slightly as she blinked to restore her vision. She felt Jace's hands on top of hers as he clasped the belt securely. When she could see the ground clearly again, she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Maybe you should sit this one out." he said slowly, his thumb brushing gently over her injured shoulder blade.

She shook her head once. "Not a chance."

Jace pursed his lips but the corner of his mouth twitched as if he were about to smile. "I figured you'd say that."

"It's our turn!" Aline called from another campsite and the Shadowhunters around them all stood up, geared and armed for battle.

Clary moved to join the crowd as they advanced towards the fight when a slight pressure on her arm slowed her down. Jace was staring intently at her face, worry flashing through his eyes.

"Please be careful." he said, more like a plea than advice. She squeezed his hand tightly before darting after Isabelle. They were soon to be parabatai and fought best together.

Jace and Alec were right behind them as they climbed the steep hill overlooking the main battle. It was like walking into a mundane history book; Clary wanted to sprint right out. Soldiers were falling on both sides of the fight, the ground rumbled in protest and rage as it was upheaved with seelie magic and the weight of a hundred warriors.

The New York Institute fanned out as they had done the same way every 30 minutes and found a member of the Italian Institute to stand behind in order to switch them off.

Clary moved to stand beside a woman with short blond hair, even shorter than her and together they sliced open the chest of a seelie guard. Clary felt bile in the back of her throat as the man crumpled to the floor in a heap of gear and the Italian Shadowhunter turned to smile at her.

Clary cried out as the tip of a spear protruded from the woman's chest. The woman's smile faded as she fell to the floor, revealing a taller seelie who bared his teeth at his victory.

Then he spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction. Clary could hear the shouts of her fellow soldiers behind her as she bolted after him, dust, earth and ash kicking up in her wake.

* * *

Isabelle slashed her whip once through a mountainous seelie who fell under her deadly assault. As the head of the institute, she'd been given the responsibility of leading the defense at the middle of the attack. Her position in the attack meant their area was receiving the brunt of the fight.

Her dark eyes were already frantically searching for Clary amongst the crowds but another voice instantly drew her attention.

"Isabelle?" a voice called. A voice that sounded eerily like Simon's. Simon who was supposed to be watching over New York with Raphael and the other downworlders…

She couldn't help herself from calling out. "Simon!"

Jace ducked a spear and plunged his seraph blade into the man's chest, as he turned to give her an odd stare. She was too distracted, trying to decipher her dark haired man amongst the others to explain herself to Jace.

It was irrational to be thinking of an impossibility like Simon being here. It side tracked her mind, made her movements sloppier and her focus diverged at the worst moments possible. As she brought her whip down on the seelie guard in front of her, there was another faint whisper of Simon's voice calling out to her from the other side of the valley.

She righted herself and gripped her whip tighter as she sprinted across the terrain.

"Isabelle!" Alec called incredulously, but the wind whipped around her ears and drowned out all reason as she tore after Simon's voice.

* * *

Everybody had gone insane. That was the only logical explanation for Isabelle and Clary's behaviour. Alec felt a surge of anger as he fired three arrows, nailing three separate seelies in the forehead.

He was stationed on Isabelle's right where he received the second highest concentration of attacks. Jace and Clary were placed slightly further back to hold rank as the seelie army pushed closer to the heart of the city.

Alec had tried and failed to track Clary as she tore after that seelie guard, Jace had been about to follow her but a new wave of seelie guards had stopped him.

Now his sister was racing in the opposite direction of the fight, abandoning her post as she ran towards some invisible siren.

A trickle of sweat was trailing down Alec's spine as he raised his bow in search of its next target. As his eyes raked the bloody landscape, they stopped short when they landed on a familiar dark haired girl with tall boots surrounded by seelie guards. Alec launched several more arrows before taking off after the dark haired girl...Isabelle?

His heart was thudding painfully against his chest as he withdrew a sword and fought his way through the thick crowd to reach the group surrounding his sister. He skidded to a stop when he reached the place he thought he'd seen the group.

Alec frowned as he stared into the distance. Had he miscalculated their location? He turned in a wide circle, his bow raised out in front of him and found the dark haired girl again surrounded by seelies off to the side of the main fight.

He followed after the dark haired girl.

* * *

Was there a bigger seelie battle somewhere else? Was there some more exciting and urgent matter Jace hadn't seen?

He scowled as he brought his blade down in a graceful arc to behead the seelie standing opposite him. One moment he seemed to be surrounded by his fellow soldiers, calling out warnings to each other. The next instant, he was alone in the most busy, crowded and hectic patch of the battle.

Well not technically alone. There were other Shadowhunters still fighting beside him. But he certainly felt very alone as his closest companions disappeared around him.

Panic began to spread like poison in Jace's chest as he swiveled around to aim a sharp kick to the seelie sneaking up on Underhill. Before the guard could raise his spear, Jace slashed his blade through his chest.

Jace's breath hitched as he looked down at the seelie guard who suddenly seemed to have red hair. Very familiar red hair.

He blinked and the vision was gone. Jace suspiciously scanned the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Unless you thought seelie and Shadowhunters charging at each other was abnormal.

Just as he was about to seek his next opponent, the sound of high pitched laughter rang across the field. No one else seemed to have heard the strange sound, but it was a laugh he knew well. A laugh that never meant joy but rather pain. Suffering.

Only Jonathan Morgenstern's laugh could send such spikes of fear and paranoia rippling throughout his body.

Jace was drawn to the sound, desperate to find its source and prove that he was delusional. That he had gone crazy from stress and the frenzy of the fight. Jonathan was dead. But the laughter that roared across the valley was unmistakably Jonathan's.

Before reason could catch up to his paranoia, Jace was sprinting back towards the campsite, chasing after a sound that surely didn't exist.

* * *

Simon was bored. Completely and utterly bored. He angrily kicked a crumpled pop can across the sidewalk as he walked glumly in the shade.

All the Shadowhunters were gallivanting off to Italy on another heroic mission to save the world while Simon was stuck on babysitting duty, patrolling a city that was only in danger of self destruction. The crowds of people in the drug dens, gambling parlors and bars he'd passed in the past few days were enough to make him question the American education system.

He tried not to think about his loved ones fighting former allies overseas while he was strolling along on a sidewalk, chained inside the body of a destructive vampire. But Isabelle had adamantly refused his help in the battle. Apparently holy weapons would suffice and they didn't need a full bodied killing machine like Simon as an asset.

Simon was still bitterly thinking about the last conversations he'd had with the Shadowhunters before they left when he passed under a tall maple tree that hung over a dank pastry shop.

A single, sleek green leaf drifted downwards from the massive tree and fell onto the grubby sidewalk in front of him. His sharp eyes were able to make out the engravings on the leaf.

'_The Daylighter's fair and dark haired maiden is in the place where he's felt the most pain.'_

He bent slowly and retrieved the fallen leaf and reread the message over and over again in his mind. Was this a joke? Was this a trap? How could this be possible? Had he accidentally inhaled fumes from the drug dens he'd passed?

His thumb traced over words and he felt his resolve settle in. Fear and panic also began to blossom in his dead chest as he pocketed the leaf and furiously kicked the tree the leaf had come from. Several mundanes shot him alarmed looks but didn't pause their leisurely strolls.

What were the unlikely chances that a very directed message on a _leaf _would tumble into Simon's path? What other Daylighter could they possibly be referring to other than himself?

And a dark haired maiden. How many dark haired maidens did Simon care about in his life?

Dread began to over take his mind as he paced back and forth in front of the wretched tree, racking his brain for a place where he had felt the most pain.

If this wasn't a game, if this wasn't a trap and Isabelle really was in danger, then he had to take this threat seriously and damn the consequences.

Identifying the place where he'd felt the most pain was proving to be rather challenging. In such an eventful and supernatural life, Simon had been subjected to many terrible and agonizing events.

If his heart could race, he supposed it would have with the frustration and hysteria that was bubbling up inside of him. He forced himself to breathe in unnecessary gulps of air as he ran through the most difficult moments of his normal and immortal life.

He stopped his pacing and traced his fanged teeth with his tongue. The transformation into the vampire he was had been the most excruciating physical experience he'd ever had. So he set off in the direction of the graveyard where he had risen from the dead.

* * *

Isabelle had followed Simon's voice all the way through the raging battle and into the quiet city nearby. Several shopkeepers were closing up for the day and the locals were chatting casually on the sides of the cobbled street.

Simon's voice led her to an alley off the side of the main road that was empty except for a few large dumpsters and stray cats.

She uncoiled her whip and proceeded slowly as she strained her eyes in the dim lighting to see Simon. Then Simon's voice changed and it didn't sound exactly like her Simon but she supposed it never did. It sounded colder. Harsher. More _dead_.

"Isabelle." his voice breathed across the dank alleyway. She couldn't bring herself to respond as she stood frozen in her place. "You have to save me before I join the souls where they rest."

"Simon I - " Isabelle started, reaching a hand forward when the lure she'd felt for his voice disappeared like a ceiling capsizing all around her.

A growing sense of unease was nudging her gut as the whip suddenly felt useless and heavy at her side. _Before I join the souls where they rest. _

Her instincts were begging her to ignore this ridiculous quest and return to the safety of the battle. But her mind was already whirring with the horrible possibilities of the message.

There was only one place where souls lay to rest in the Shadow world. Her booted heels turned away from the dark alley and walked onwards.

* * *

The dark haired girl that Alec had been tracking through the crowds had disappeared over a lonely hill who's green pastures had yet to be stained with blood. There was a unique beauty and tranquility to the unmarred land. It almost sang of youth and innocence.

He reached the crest of the hill, his eyes surveying the heavenly land and the dark haired girl was nowhere to be seen. Alec jogged cautiously down the slope of the hill and nocked an arrow in his bow out of habit.

He felt a sudden sense of silliness as he stood alone on an empty plain when the faint sounds of battle were still coming from beyond the hill. Such a dreary sound he longed to drown out.

Just as he was about to turn and return to sanity, to reason, the ground beneath him began to stir. It was as if an animal had woken from hibernation as the roots below began to twitch and crawl, the grass jerking as if it were being tickled. Alec stumbled back, staring around at the empty plain with confusion as a long branch shot out from the earth.

The spiky and thorned branch seemed to streak towards Alec, stopping a meter away and extending its wicked arms out to him, as if it were offering him an embrace.

As if Alec's sense of reason couldn't be further distorted, he took a step closer to the prickly branch and raised his hand to touch it. He just had to feel the terribly evil branch, it was calling for him, urging him to just _touch._

Several things happened the instant the flesh of his finger was pricked by the sharp branch. Alec's vision swam and he was no longer on the deserted plain.

He was standing in front of an empty grave, whispers and cries resonating in his ears as he struggled to see what was hidden inside the earth. He staggered backwards as Magnus' body lay ghostly pale in the previously empty grave.

His eyes remained closed as his mouth opened and an inhumane sound that mimicked Magnus' lovely voice pierced through the air.

"Alec. You have to save me before I join the souls where they rest." he whispered before his lips returned to their locked state.

Alec's hands were shaking as the frightening shadow of his husband disappeared and he was transported back to the empty plains.

He ran a hand through his hair and drew an iratze rune over his skin. This was a hallucination, this couldn't be real, this was _bait. _

Yet he couldn't shake the message out of his head. It's instructions were clear. The place where souls lay to rest - City of Bones.

* * *

Isabelle hiked up the trail to the City of Bones, bracing herself for the worst. Either she was too late and Simon was dead for good or this was a trap and she would be dead. She hoped it was the latter.

The Silent Brothers were nowhere to be seen as she walked through the gates and scoped out the area for signs of seelies or their evil queen. But the graveyard was empty and she was the only living thing she could see.

Then an uncovered grave rose ominously from the earth, drawing her body towards the morbid scene. Something was pulsing against her throat, almost as fast as her heart, as she neared the open grave.

A blood curdling scream escaped her lips as she fell to her knees in front of the grave. Simon's body lay pale and unmoving as his face was contorted into a smooth expression.

But Simon was in New York? How could a vampire have made its way into the sacred grounds of the Silent City?

Her hand trembled as she grappled for Simon's dead hand when the corpse came to life at her touch. Simon's dead eyes shot open and his skin began to melt away from his body like ice in the heat of summer.

Isabelle jerked away from the body as something pulsed even more vividly at her throat. She glanced down and saw that it was her ruby necklace. This wasn't Simon. It was a demon.

Her whip unfurled with a resounding crack as the demon shed Simon's skin and reared back on its hind legs to tower over her.

For the first time in the last few hours of her wild chase, she felt certain about her movements as she slashed the whip across the demon's chest, sending him crashing to his knees.

Before his roar of rage could fully penetrate the air in graveyard, she had wrapped the whip around it's neck and with an incredible rush of anger she pulled tightly and the demon disintegrated into ashes.

Isabelle sank to her knees as her vision cleared. She hadn't noticed a strange bluish tinge to her sight until it was removed and everything was clear again. It was as if she had been looking through murky lenses and now they were clean. There was the sound of wracked sobs beside her and she turned to see Alec on the edge of an open grave much like the one in front of her.

He turned at her approach and she secured her arms around him, holding him firmly in her grasp. It was pretty obvious he had been a victim of this cruel hallucination as she was.

Then the low and joyous voice of the Seelie Queen shattered their spell of relief.

"The pawns have been captured."

* * *

Simon tore a handful of grass up from the earth in frustration before storming away from the graveyard. He'd stood there stupidly for hours, looking between headstones for signs of the Seelie Queen or Isabelle.

He had been forced to accept that he was looking in the wrong place. But he couldn't think of any other time where he'd felt the most excruciating pain. He must have had a rather frightening look on his face because several mundanes gave him a wide berth on the sidewalks.

Simon found he liked this space, his mind was starting to feel like confinement.

He couldn't tell whether he felt more silly for going on a wild goose chase after this random message or if he felt more idiotic for his lack of progress on the Seelie Queen's riddle.

The Seelie Queen was the master of riddles and games that brought out a monster in its players. She didn't play by any rules and was not limited to sane requests. This was not a sane request.

As conniving and deceitful as she was, she could not lie. So there was something Simon was misinterpreting in the message - if it even was a real threat.

Pain. Simon was not unfamiliar with the concept. Hell, this riddle was pretty damn painful. His head shot up from his sulky stare at the cracks on the floor when the realization struck him.

Pain was not just physical. It was emotional and mental.

Simon wheeled around and began running in the opposite direction towards the tall building where his mark of Cain had exploded.

He felt certain that this was the correct destination. Of course the Seelie Queen would spin an extraordinarily difficult riddle for him to stress and struggle over.

When he thought he had killed Clary, a terrible and consuming self-loathing had overtaken his senses. He had never hated what he was so much. The pain of being responsible for Clary's death was exponentially more painful than his vampire transformation.

Unfortunately for him the building that had exploded was a business center and was infested with mundanes that cast him judgmental looks. He couldn't blame them, he did look quite deranged and out of place.

Thanks to his superior hearing, he was able to dodge staircases and elevators that had other occupants and was able to reach the newly reconstructed rooftop undetected.

He pushed open the large metal door and a gust of wind smacked him in the face. He stepped out onto the rooftop as the sun began to set, shining blinding light into his vision.

He blinked to focus his sight and saw a marble stand placed at the center of the rooftop. On top of the marble stand was a large bowl housing a transparent liquid that smelt acidic to him.

Simon didn't need to read the placard to know what he had to do. He had to drink the unknown liquid.

He picked up the bowl in between his hands and pressed the edge to his lips. If this killed him and Isabelle wasn't ever in harm, at least he would die with good intentions.

With this reasoning in mind, he tipped the bowl back and the rancid liquid burned as it slipped down his throat. The bowl smashed to the floor as Simon reached for his throat, gasping for breath.

His throat was on fire. It was like flames licking up the insides of his throat, squeezing and suffocating him from the inside. Simon fell to his knees wheezing for air and the most strange sensation overcame him.

His heart started to beat.

Then the low and joyous voice of the Seelie Queen was whispering in his ear;

"The knight has fallen."

* * *

Clary had never felt so murderous in her entire life. She _needed_ to kill that seelie. This blood thirsty desire pumped her legs faster as the sea of enemies and allies seemed to part before her, allowing her to give chase.

The seelie she was hunting appeared unconcerned by her wrath, only turning to grin at her every so often which only succeeded in enraging her further.

They were reaching a lonely hill near the seelie army campsite. Clary knew what a terrible decision it was to abandon her important defensive post and willingly run towards the enemy's territory. Even thinking this very obvious thought in her head didn't seem to register with her sense of logic for she continued up the steep hill.

When she reached the top, her eyes left the seelie guard for the first time since she started chasing him and rested on another figure. Her insides curled when she realized it was Jace, bound and bloodied on the terrain. His eyes were shut but it was undoubtedly Jace. How did he beat her here? Wasn't he supposed to be holding ground behind Alec?

Her eyes swivelled back to the seelie guard who had his spear raised in Jace's direction. Without thinking about it, Clary launched herself between them and blocked his spear with her sword.

The harsh lines on the seelies face deepend as he scowled at her venomously. He twisted the spear so that it knocked her aside and he continued to move towards Jace's still figure.

Dread was building up in her chest as she frantically crawled her way closer to them and thrust her arm out, just managing to pierce the seelie's lower back. He roared with rage and turned to bring the deadly spear down on her. She rolled out of the way as the spear tip dug into the hard earth.

Clary was on her feet then, repositioning herself between Jace and the seelie who spat a mouthful of blood onto the grass. He swiped low at her feet as she jumped to avoid the blow. Her sword cut neatly across the middle of his chest as his snarl ripped through the air.

He was moving towards her quickly now and her heel bumped into Jace's still body. Would the seelie guard follow her if she tried to lead him away?  
There was no time to test the theory as his spear raced towards her, she slashed down on the tip so that the sharp part broke off but the wooden splinters left behind tore through her shirt and scraped her skin.

His hand was on her throat, squeezing and tightening as he leered at her. Clary gasped for air as she kicked him sharply in the gut, loosening his hold enough for her to raise the sword and cut off his hand.

The seelie appeared to be finished playing games as he flicked his hand and vines sprouted from the earth and wound their way up her ankles. Clary tried to cut away at them with her sword but they seemed immune to the blade's deadly edges.

The seelie moved towards her, wiping blood from his chin as he unsheathed another blade. Clary was still stuck helpless, strapped to the ground as the seelie moved around her to reach Jace.

"Don't do it!" Jace's voice rang loudly across the plain.

Neither the seelie nor Clary listened to him as Clary fell onto her back, as far as the vines around her feet would allow her to. She spread her arms across Jace's still body, meeting the seelie's hard stare.

"Have mercy." Clary pleaded, shifting as much as she could to cover Jace's body with her own.

The seelie laughed callously at her request and cocked his head to the side, as if considering his options before his sword came swinging down and plunged into her body, where she fell limp on top of Jace's.

Then the low and joyous voice of the Seelie Queen echoed dimly in the back of her mind.

"The Queen is mine."

* * *

Jace had always thought he'd die in battle. That was the way most Shadowhunters went. It was honourable, respectable and frankly, it was normal.

He did not expect to die unarmed with his hands tied behind his back.

Jace could practically hear Valentine's scolding from beyond the grave for his poor decisions. For letting his emotions cloud his judgement. And as much as he resented Valentine, Jace knew he was right. Jace knew for a fact that Jonathan was dead and yet, he'd been absorbed with such blinding morbid curiosity and vengeance that he still chased after his laughter.

And now, like the colossal idiot he was, he had been bound and gagged at the top of a hill.

The Seelie Queen had her hands clasped behind her back as she stared at him with interest. Her blood red gown trailed after her like a macabre shadow as she walked barefoot across the grass.

"You and your friends have quite predictable personalities." she finally said, stopping in front of him so that he was forced to raise his head to look at her. He refused to look at her victorious expression and settled on scowling at a tree behind her.

She didn't seem bothered by his reaction and resumed her casual pacing. "The Lightwoods were simply comical, the way they valiantly tried to save their downworld lovers." she gave a short and cold laugh.

Jace wanted to smack himself for his slowness. Of course, when the others had run off into the distance, he should have known there was seelie magic involved. But seelie magic was filled with illusions and mind games, surely Magnus and Simon were alright?  
"Do not fret Jonathan Herondale." she said affectionately. "Your siblings and their lovers are perfectly fine. I just needed them out of the way so my soldiers could take down the Shadowhunter army and capture Italy."

And then the puzzles seemed to slide into place inside Jace's mind and he clenched his fists tightly behind his back. Alec, Izzy, Clary and himself were stationed at the most important locations of defense during the battle. By weeding them out one by one, the Seelie Queen paved a nice path for victory.

The Seelie Queen smiled wryly. "I can see you're beginning to understand. The vampire, or should I say, _former _vampire, was even more amusing. He was going mad with humiliation and frustration as he ran ragged around the city."

Jace felt sick as he burned his gaze into the innocent tree behind the queen's back. Former vampire? But Simon was supposed to be protecting New York -

"Yes." she sighed dreamily. "I had another army ready to invade New York while the former vampire was frolicking around the streets. I've always been fond of that one."

Jace felt anxiety seize his muscles as he jerked his wrists against the ropes to no avail. As if things couldn't get any worse, Clary was suddenly sprinting up the hill in violent pursuit of another seelie guard.

He shouted against the cloth that gagged him but she apparently couldn't see or hear him. She looked ravenous as she stared down the seelie before a horrified expression took over her face.

The Seelie Queen moved to sit down next to Jace, as if they were having a friendly conversation.

"Do you know what the queen's role is in the game of chess?" she asked, as they watched Clary wedge herself inbetween an illusion of Jace and the seelie guard.

Jace was breathing raggedly as he began thrashing his hands against the rope. The Seelie Queen turned her gaze from Clary's battle to Jace's feeble struggle.

"The queen always protects the king," she purred into his ear, leaning back on her hands to watch Clary fall onto the illusion of Jace's still body.

Jace roughly managed to lower his gag and he desperately called out to her. "Don't do it!"

For a moment, Jace thought that she had heard him but of course, she never listened to him, and draped her petite frame over the illusion of Jace. Jace was cussing now as he felt blood trail down his wrists as they grated against the rope.

As the blade struck Clary's body, a beastly scream ripped from deep within Jace's chest as he finally managed to break the rope. As he rose to his feet the vision of Clary and his still body blinked out of existence.

He whirled around to glare at the Seelie Queen who was still lounging on the grass. He wanted nothing more than to throttle her. The lines between reality and vision were blurring. How much was real? Was Clary really dead?

"What's left?" he said scathingly. Out of the corner of his eye he was searching for a weapon, anything he could use besides his hands to kill the witch. "You've taken two cities, meddled with 5 different lives and who knows how many you've killed."

It was infuriating to watch her so smug and pleased with herself. Her twisted personality craved for power, control and deception. It thrived on it. This game was becoming an obsession for her. She must have relished in their weakness, their gullibility. In her mind, she knew that she had ultimate power over them. The sure knowledge that they were expendable pieces to her. Easily exploitable and disposable upon her convenience. That may as well have been her greatest victory of the day.

The Seelie Queen tilted her head back, her heart shaped face reflecting the sun's rays. She closed her eyes and a blissful smile spread across her face. "Tell me Jonathan, how does one win a game of chess?"

Jace wanted to close the distance between them and smack the content expression off her face. It was maddening how little she respected human life.

She turned and frowned at his stony look. "Answer the question."

"You capture the king." he said through grit teeth.

The Seelie Queen turned her head back towards the sun and the lazy smile graced her features again. "That's right. And I believe that watching the queen fall for you was a death blow to the king too."

Before Jace could spit out a retort, she disappeared from the hilltop, leaving a road of misery and grief in her wake.

Author's Note

Hi there! Thank you to everyone who's stuck with the story thus far!

ALSO. I tried to shape this chapter like a massive, human sized game of chess. I hope that kind of concept was clear in the chapter, I did my best to incorporate elements of the game to reinforce the Seelie Queen's mischievous nature.

As always, I'd love to hear from you :)


	13. Chapter Thirteen: City of Blood

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

_And then there was Clary. For some reason she'd grown protective of the two orphaned children - Lillian and James Dunce, from the gas leak._

"_Do not fret Jonathan Herondale." the Seelie Queen said affectionately. "Your siblings and their lovers are perfectly fine. I just needed them out of the way so my soldiers could take down the Shadowhunter army and capture Italy."_

_And then the puzzles seemed to slide into place inside Jace's mind and he clenched his fists tightly behind his back. Alec, Izzy, Clary and himself were stationed at the most important locations of defense during the battle. By weeding them out one by one, the Seelie Queen paved a nice path for victory._

_Jace felt sick as he burned his gaze into the innocent tree behind the witch's back. Former vampire? But Simon was supposed to be protecting New York - _

"_Yes." she sighed dreamily. "I had another army ready to invade New York while the former vampire was frolicking around the streets. I've always been fond of that one."_

* * *

"Entreat me not to leave thee." Isabelle said, the corner of her lips fighting a smile.

Clary too, had to bite the inside of her cheek to refrain from bursting out into a wide grin. "Or return from following after thee."

"For whither thou goest, I will go." Isabelle continued, her hand still firmly clasped on Clary's forearm.

Clary returned the pressure with a gentle squeeze on Isabelle's arm. "And where thou lodgest, I will lodge."

"Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Isabelle said, her voice ringing clearly in the hall of the Institute.

"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried." Clary said sincerely, the back of her eyes prickling a little. It was the lights, they were in her eyes…

"The Angel do so to me, and more also." Isabelle said turning serious too.

"If aught but death part thee and me." they finished together.

Clary turned her back to Isabelle, tugging her tank top to the side to expose the unmarked skin of her back. The Silent Brother handed Isabelle the stele first which she took and slowly inked in the parabatai rune on Clary's shoulder blade.

It burned with a sort of satisfaction that mirrored Clary's own feelings. This moment seemed to officially signify their sisterhood for life.

Clary took the stele from the Silent Brother and traced the parabatai room onto Isabelle's toned shoulder blade.

A chorus of congratulations and celebration rang throughout the hall as Isabelle offered Clary her hand and she took it.

After the theatrical game the Seelie Queen had made them play, Isabelle and Clary had decided it was time to fortify their strength during the war and make their bond official.

Residents of the fallen Italian Institute were spread sporadically throughout the world. Several had joined the New York Shadowhunters in their Institute as they retreated from Italy, others sought refuge elsewhere, and the injured were sent to Idris.

The Seelie Queen had also invaded New York, the streets were crawling with her men but they had yet to attack their Institute. Clary felt increasingly like a sitting duck as they all recovered and prepared for their next move. The only question was _why _the Seelie Queen hadn't attacked. Clary suspected she was drawing out the moment to make it more dramatic and violent. The suspense was maddening.

Isabelle wanted to stay and defend their home, an idea that Clary and Jace supported. Alec and Magnus were strongly against this and were trying to convince Isabelle to evacuate the Institute.

"Aw Alec would you look at them! Such youthful souls out to embark on an unknown adventure in the Shadow realm!" Jace said with a dramatic sigh. "We've raised them well."

Alec grinned sideways at his own parabatai as they moved towards Clary and Isabelle. "Clary, I'm sorry you're stuck with this one for life now."

Isabelle elbowed him hard in the stomach as the others laughed - a sound that was much too rare.

Alec's expression became grave as he led the way down an empty corridor. "There's a lot we should discuss."  
Isabelle rolled her eyes as she and Clary followed after him, their hands still linked together. "You mean there's a lot more lecturing for you to give and for me to unwillingly receive."

Magnus looked weary as he pushed open the door to Isabelle's office and they filed into the room, taking their usual seats as they had been doing the past few days.

Since their return from Italy, Alec had been urging his sister to evacuate the Institute. The seelie guards were not making their presence subtle in the city. The vines that were overtaking the area were joined by a sea of thorned plants.

Seelies were the other invasive species in the city that was flirting with disaster as they hooked up with naive mundanes and they vandalized the streets with offensive messages. Like pests, they crawled amongst the throng of New Yorkers, prowled in the alleys, caused discord in public areas, all in effort of taunting the itty bitty Shadowhunters.

They had been congregating in Isabelle's office to 'discuss' this problem but it was always the same arguments brought forth and shot down. Isabelle stomped to her desk chair, Simon followed to stand behind her.

Simon. Who was no longer a vampire. As far as the illusions went during their time in Italy, the water Simon had drunk thinking it was to save Isabelle wasn't a hallucination. And now he was just a mundane with the sight. Clary and Isabelle were determined to make him a Shadowhunter…

Magnus often leaned in the crook between the wall and the window as Alec poised himself in the chair opposite his sister.

Jace propped himself so he was sitting on top of a low shelf and Clary stood beside him.

"Let's hear it." Isabelle sighed begrudgingly as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

Alec's words spilled out over each other as Jace shot Clary a bored look. "Isabelle. The seelies are taking down Institutes one by one! Their random attacks all over the world are leaving all of us grappling to keep up, to survive! Just this morning, the Sydney Institute fled to Idris after they fought for 5 consecutive days!"

"I'm aware of the recent attacks Alec." Isabelle snapped, returning her brother's steely stare.

"Then why are you being so stubborn? Look, we know that they're picking us off like flies and still, with the city infested with seelies, the New York Institute is the highest risk target - "

"Just because they're coming for us doesn't mean we have to run and hide." Isabelle repeated the same argument she'd been giving him the past few days. "We have a duty to protect our home - "

"Duty means nothing if you're dead!" Alec shouted, his hands gripping the sides of the arm chair angrily. "It's stupid and reckless to keep the Shadowhunters here when you _know_ that an attack is right outside your door! There are many ways to fight this war Isabelle and you can fight just the same in Idris - "

"You're welcome to flee to Idris Alexander, nobody is keeping you here." Isabelle said coldly. "The seelie attack is inevitable. So whether we fight them here or fight them in Idris, it makes no difference. This is our _home _and we have an obligation to protect it."  
Clary stared at the fire as Isabelle delivered the final line in this repetitious play they seemed to rehash each time they settled into this office.

She understood Isabelle's reasoning. Shadowhunters did not hide from the fight, they ran towards it, swords blazing. But it wasn't just their Institute that needed protection, it was the entire New York city. This was their jurisdiction and it was already being ravaged by seelies.

To leave it defenseless seemed more than shameful. It felt like a disgrace to their title as Shadowhunters.

"Clary and I have patrol now so if you'll excuse us." Jace said, breaking the icy silence. He grasped Clary's hand and pulled her out of the heated office.

Clary raised her eyes to shoot him a pointed look. "We do not have patrol right now."

Jace slung his arm across his shoulders as they walked down the hallway. "Do you want to listen to Act II of their bickering? I could recite the rest of their lines for you if you'd like. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Simon will say 'Why don't we all just go to bed and talk about this tomorrow?'. Then Alec will say, 'We could be dead tomorrow' - "

"Then Isabelle will scream in frustration." Clary laughed, knowing that this was exactly what was happening in the office.

She turned to look up at Jace and was surprised to see he was already looking down at her. His eyes held something guarded and painful ever since their return from Italy. Clary couldn't bring herself to confront him about it. Everyone had shared their hallucination in Italy, including Jace. But Clary felt there was more he hadn't told her. All he had said, was the queen showed him Clary's hallucination taking place. She wouldn't push him on this. And a part of her didn't particularly want to know.

Wild emotions were running rampant amongst their group. Guilt for abandoning their posts to chase after a hallucination. Irritation with herself for being so susceptible to the Seelie Queen's game. Unease at how flawlessly the Seelie Queen had controlled them and played to their weaknesses. And finally fear at how quickly and suddenly everything she knew could disappear.

* * *

Jace waited until Clary had dozed off, the crinkle between her brows smoothing out as her lips puckered slightly and her breathing evened out.

Whenever he couldn't escape to sleep, watching her was always comforting. Tonight, he felt a strange sense of trepidation as he slid from under the covers and gently pushed his pillow to replace him in her arms.

He walked quietly to the window of their room and scanned the dark street outside. Not that he expected to see anyone there, this place was still glamoured from mundanes and warded against seelies. But he looked nevertheless, to soothe his own paranoia. As expected, there was nothing but the sway of the leaves to indicate life existed beyond these safe walls.

Jace pressed his forehead against the cool pane of the window, relishing in the feel of its cold residue caressing his skin. Ever since Italy, everything in his life seemed so breakable and temporary.  
That was the ironic twist to his dilemma. _Life _was temporary. Jace would be a fool to declare that he was unafraid of death. In some way, everyone was afraid of death. For Jace the prospect of death did not make him hunch over and cry but rather steeled and stubborn.

Death suddenly looked much more intimidating since Jace realized how many ways a person could die. Not just physical death but emotional. When he had thought Clary was dead, even for the briefest moment in his seelie magic spell, it was like he was dying. And that was ten times more terrible than any physical death.

Jace jerked away from the window as his ears picked up the hollow sound of footsteps against the floor. He swiped up the seraph blade on his nightstand and inched towards the door. His behaviour was irrational and probably early signs of insanity. They lived in public quarters, _other _people were going to move and make noise. As logical as this was, Jace's blade was his only anchor to peace of mind.

There were soft murmurs as the footsteps continued to thud. Jace reasoned with himself that intruders would not only set off alarms but they would be a lot more quiet than this. Even still, he had learned to expect anything from the seelies at this point.

With his seraph blade raised slightly in front of him he reached for the handle of the door when he heard it opening from the other side. Jace braced himself to strike the person on the other side as the door swung open.

"Fucking hell man!" Raj crowed, backing away with his hands raised a bewildered and assaulted expression on his face. Jace sheepishly lowered his blade and eyed him with annoyance.

"It's not a healthy habit to barge into my room in the middle of the night." he said darkly. He heard Clary stirring behind him and the impulse to slap Raj only intensified.

"Geeze man, next time I _won't _tell you when we're evacuating the Institute." Raj said grumpily as he turned to stride away from the door.

"What?" Jace demanded, seizing him by the arm and roughly pulling him back. "Is this authorized?"

Raj scoffed and shook his arm free. "Clave authorized your majesty. Anything else?"

"Get out." Jace said with exasperation as he slammed the door.

"What's going on?" Clary mumbled, already sliding out of bed. The crease between her brows returned and Jace felt guilty for not admonishing Raj outside.

"Let's go." he murmured, leading them out towards the ops center.

Shadowhunters had duffel bags in their hands and weapons strapped to their bodies as they formed organized lines. There was the faint shine of a portal at the far end of the Institute. Jace strode towards Isabelle and Alec who were hovering over a monitor screen.

"I don't remember this part of your daily debate." Jace cut across their whispered conversation. He felt a twinge of irritation of being left out of the loop.

Alec turned first to give him a hard look. "How was patrol?" Crap, he knew, Jace thought sourly.

"When did this happen?" he asked, dodging the question.

"When the Hong Kong Institute fell." Isabelle replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

Jace was momentarily surprised before he regained his composure. "This made you surrender to Alec?" he asked skeptically.

Isabelle turned her head to shoot him a nasty look. "I am _not _surrendering to Alec. This is Clave mandated. They want all Institutes to evacuate and take refuge in Idris so we can work together. We're all so spread out, it's hard to help each other fight."  
"Which is what I've been telling you from the start." Alec said dryly.

"Well let me get to the other part." Isabelle said, returning her attention to the screen. Clary moved closer to stare over her shoulder.

"We're not leaving?" Clary clarified. Ah, this sounded much more like Isabelle.

"What?" Alec demanded, also moving to peer over Isabelle's shoulder.

"I made my case to Jia and we agreed that essential personnel should stay behind to at least offer some protection to the mundanes." Isabelle said brightly, casting a radiant look up at Alec.

Jace laughed and clapped a hand on Alec's shoulder. "Can't win 'em all."

Then an angry voice came from behind them, the whiny tone still audible over the chatter and hubbub of the other Shadowhunters preparing for departure.  
"Since when am I essential personnel?" Raj asked incredulously. They all turned to look at him as he held a large overflowing duffel in one hand and a dagger in the other.

Jace raised his eyebrow at him. "I wonder about that too."

Raj scowled at him as Isabelle turned in her seat to address him.

"I gave a list of Shadowhunters who've been with the Institute the longest or who have high clearance to the people manning the portals. Apparently you're on the list." she shrugged, as his face grew redder. "Looks like you're stuck with us."  
"But that's not fair!" he protested, a panic stricken look crossing his face. "You can't ask me to forfeit my life for mundanes!"  
Jace shot him a disgusted look. "That's the definition of a Shadowhunter buddy."

"I didn't sign up for this!" he half wailed. "I should have a say in my life and you have no right to force me to lay down my life for mundanes - "

"Darn, Alec we must have forgotten to include that in the fine print of the Shadowhunter contract." Jace sighed, clapping a hand to his forehead. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clary roll her eyes and he shot her a lopsided grin.

Raj looked between all their faces before appearing to realize he'd lost, and stormed away.

* * *

The Institute felt hollow without the others. Their voices seemed to ricochet off the walls loudly and their footsteps seemed to echo like the march of an army.

Little Lillian and James Dunce, the orphans from the gas leak had somehow managed to hideaway during the mass evacuation to Idris by hiding out under the bed. Isabelle seemed to be the most agitated by their presence, unsure whether to discuss battle plans or news updates in their presence.

They had tried to send them to join the others but the Clave would only open portals to admit the remaining Shadowhunters left in the mundane world. So the kids would have to wait till they were ready to join the others in their homeland. Clary only hoped they would be alive in time to do it.

Clary and Isabelle were returning from their patrol on the westside of Manhattan. The Seelie Queen seemed to have an unlimited source of demons for she set them all across the city to wreck more havoc in addition to her beloved vines and seelies.

They had slaughtered at least 2 dozen demons during patrol and were slick with grime and sweat.

"I'm starving." Isabelle said, dragging out the last g. "I hope Magnus is cooking, Alec's food always tastes bland."

They hadn't bothered to eat meals in the dining hall anymore. There was no point with only the small population of Shadowhunters still living in the Institute. Amidst babysitting duty, patrol or sleeping, there was a scheduled Shadowhunter to cook meals that they shared in the kitchen.

"Ah thank the angel." Isabelle muttered after peeping into the kitchen. She kicked open the door with her boot and sauntered in to peck Simon on the cheek. Since blood wasn't a necessary part of his diet anymore, it greatly eased the chef's responsibility.

Clary dropped her heavy weapons belt onto the floor by the door and inhaled the lovely aroma of Magnus' cooking.

It appeared he was feeling generous because he had made steaming pots of Indian food that seemed to call for Clary's appetite.

"Magnus _I love you_." Isabelle half moaned as she sank into the dining chair beside Simon and helped herself to the tottering pile of tundoori chicken.

Clary smiled and slid into the seat beside Jace who was already shoveling mouthfuls of daal soup into his mouth. He did pause his intimate moment with the meal to kiss Clary sloppily before returning to his plate.

"You didn't tell me you loved me when I made pot roast last night." Alec frowned as his sister enthusiastically scooped curry into her bowl.

"Magnus' food is magical." she said in between bites of naan.

"Any news from Alicante?" Clary asked, breaking off a piece of chicken with her fork. Isabelle slowed her chewing to eye the small kids. They appeared unbothered by the dinner time discussions as they too were in love with Magnus' food.

Alec wiped the corner of his mouth slowly. "They were able to adjust the wards so vampires and werewolves could enter. Seelies however, will still have blocked entry."

"It's a big improvement from the last war." Magnus amended, looking pleased with everyone's response. Clary suspected he was also relieved that they were able to eat without breaking into a fight. "Downworld entry into Alicante has always been limited to the representatives."

Meal times were always brief as there was a strict patrol schedule they followed to maximize demon control in the city. Clary was allotted several hours to sleep and she took the liberty of clearing up after the meal.

Alec was off to join in a conference call with the Clave, Magnus was on babysitting duty, Isabelle was being led off to sleep by Simon and Jace was scheduled for patrol.

"You're going to be late." Clary chided as he stood up and stretched. He scooped up the remaining plates and moved to help her at the sink. "Raj is going to be mad."  
Jace flicked her nose with his soapy finger. "Don't worry, by the time Raj hauls his ass from bed, I'll be waiting impatiently with my seraph blade."  
Clary shook her head at him as she rinsed off the plates. "I don't know, Raj seems like an unreliable partner to go on patrol with, especially at night. Maybe I should come with you - "  
"No." Jace interrupted. "No you should sleep. Trust me, I've got more than enough skill to make up for Raj's incompetence."

Clary wasn't convinced. "It's not his incompetence. He seems flighty. Like when things get tough, he'll bolt and leave you to fend for yourself."

"Well I suppose after his tantrum in the ops center the other day, he does seem rather unreliable." Jace agreed. "I'm not worried though, and you shouldn't be either."

Clary hurriedly shoved the plate into the drying rack and grabbed the front of Jace's shirt. "You have to be _careful_ okay?"

Jace grinned down at her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Always am."

"No Jace I mean it. No dumb heroism crap and no careless decisions, no going off on your own because you think you're invincible and no chasing after danger." Clary said seriously, feeling annoyance rise inside of her at his amused expression. His blatant disregard for caution was infuriating. Worrying for the both of them was draining.

"Whatever you say."

* * *

With Clary's warnings ringing in his ear, Jace had restrained himself from climbing on top of a moving bus to launch a surprise attack on a group of unsuspecting demons. He'd settled for the normal approach of just walking up to them.

The early morning air was chilly and there were few mundanes on the street. Their news reports were warning people to stay away from the new thorned cousins to the vines. Jace couldn't blame them, for the first time in his life, New York looked ugly.

It was a tedious patrol. Raj was grumbling about the excessive shifts and how overworked they were. He seemed to be oblivious to Jace's irritation. Raj was one of those individuals who lusted for the glory of Shadowhunting, but was disdainful towards the actual work.

Mercifully, their shift was drawing to a close around 3:00 am and they were making their way back to the Institute. Jace thought longingly of the fresh sheets of their bed and the sweet smell of Clary's hair. It was enough to keep him from punching Raj and running away.

"Do you smell that?" Raj asked loudly, intruding on Jace's reverie.

"What?" he snapped, automatically looking around but seeing no signs of imminent danger. Fucking Raj.

"Smoke." Raj said, raising his head to sniff at the air like a mongrel. But then Jace _did _smell it and he was bothered to admit that Raj was right.

He sped up his stride and rounded the corner to the lot where the Institute lodged and stopped abruptly. Raj slammed into his back and was cussing loudly before he too saw what had halted Jace.

The Institute was _burning._

Flames licked up the sides of the towering building, raging as it tore its way up and through the church. The bottom levels were already charred black, pieces of the doors and walls falling away like dust.

Jace was sprinting towards the burning building, his mind racing with worst possible outcomes as he raced to close the distance across the lawn. He wasn't surprised that Raj was not joining him in his haste to barge into the burning building. Hell Clary was right, that little coward.

_Clary_. Jace's eyes roved over the church as it was illuminated in the night with violent bursts of orange, red and smoldering yellow. He tried to decipher which window was their room and felt a spike of anxiety as he noted that all the windows were blackened by the fire.

It looked like a snapshot of hell, the way the church blazed up in flames, the wood lighting up and spreading rapidly across the frame of the structure.

Jace knew with terrible certainty that this was crueller than any other destruction the Seelie Queen could have sent their way. To snatch their home away with fire rather than force was ruthless. Monstrous. Signature of the Seelie Queen.

He skidded to a stop as several huddled figures came stumbling out from behind the building. The smoke was slithering inside his lungs now, making him cough and wheeze as he reached out to meet them.

Isabelle and Simon were supporting each other as they nearly collapsed in front of them. He fumbled for his stele as he traced over her iratze and pushed them further away from the flame's assault.

"Where are the others?" he huffed, inhaling into his shirt as his eyes scorched with pain. Simon shook his head, sending spirals of fear down Jace's spine as they hobbled away, gripping onto each other tightly.

Jace wanted to scream with frustration. How did this keep happening? Why did they keep finding themselves an inch from death?

Jace's parabatai rune gave a sudden lurch of discomfort and he felt panic spread through his limbs as he scoured over the blazen landscape for _something_, _anything. _

A chunk of wood from above suddenly crashed to the floor a few feet away from him.

He barely had time to roll out of the way when several figures tumbled out from a room on the side of the building. It's walls and windows were ash, leaving an opening to leap at least one story to the chaffed ground.

"Jace!" Alec's voice called and he was on his feet again, rushing towards them. Alec's face was streaked with grease and the tips of his hair were singed. He appeared to have a large gash down the front of his shirt as he cradled a small figure in his arms.

"Clary?" he breathed, drunkenly reaching out for them. Magnus was beside Alec, another tiny bundle in his arms. Jace realized they were too small to be Clary. It was Lillian and James Dunce, draped in soaking wet blankets.

"Haven't seen her." Alec replied, wincing as he adjusted the child's position in his arms. "Jace don't - "

But Jace was already running to the front of the Institute, desperately looking for an entry into the fiery prison. Sweat was sticking his shirt to him and he was sure that the smoke was choking his lungs from the inside, but nothing compared to the aching anxiety pulsing in his veins.

Several other Shadowhunters were shuffling out from the wreckage, towing injured and possibly even dead with them. Then there was an ear splitting crack as he looked up and glass rained down.

He ducked his head as the shards sprinkled the burned grass. Jace's lungs were searing as he moved closer and looked up. At first it was hard to decipher what was happening because her hair blended in perfectly with the flaming sky.

Then it was like watching a shooting star torpedo towards him. Clary appeared to have smashed through some glass window and was jumping from the burning landing.

She landed in a crouch and rolled to the side, her head snapping up, hair whipping in the wild wind and Jace was momentarily in awe. Clary looked just as blackened and burnt as Alec as her eyes landed on him and she sprinted into his open arms.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't chase after danger." Clary said hoarsely. Jace shook his head at her and tugged her closer.

He staggered backwards, pulling them both away from the flames. Jace crushed her tightly against his chest as he watched the only home he'd ever known, burn.

* * *

The Herondale manor was massive. It was at least 5 times the size of Luke/Amatis' house and 10 times more elegantly furnished. The walls sang with rich history and nobility of its inhabitants. The portraits decorating the halls were of Herondales with respectable contributions to the Clave, each wearing a severe and regal expression.

Jace did not look nearly as formal or serious as his ancestors. But they did not look nearly as beautiful as he did.

Isabelle had been forced to admit defeat and join the rest of the Institute in Idris. Not that she had much choice after the Seelie Queen set a fire under them. Literally.

The only person who didn't seem to mind the new living arrangements was Raj.

Idris was a vast country with roving hills and fairytale architecture. However it's peaceful aura was now replaced with brisk urgence.

The city was overflowing, it seemed to be exceeding its maximum capacity as the majority of the Shadowhunters in the world were now residing here.

Not to mention they had opened the wards to welcome werewolves, warlocks and vampires too.

Clary closed the curtains of the master room, trying to block out some of the noise that did nothing to ease her pounding head.

Jace sighed heavily as he entered the room, tossing his weapons belt onto an alarmingly large pouffe. "There's not many institutes left standing. Alec thinks everyone will be in Idris within the next few days."

"It's a miracle that we even made it to Idris." Clary said quietly, falling back onto the bed and tugging her boots off.

"I know." Jace agreed, running a hand through the back of his hair. His shoulders were tense as his hand moved to rub his stubble. The ash and soot seemed to create a more emphasized outline on his frown and brow crease.

He suddenly moved closer to her, reaching down to clasp her hands between his and stared at her intently. His eyes were smoldering almost as much as the fire.

"Marry me." he said abruptly, without breaking hold of her gaze.

Clary's mouth fell agape as she looked at him incredulously. "What?"

"Marry me." Jace said again. Clary tried to identify any humor or mocking in his voice but he looked dead serious. Her stomach began to squirm as she stood up from the bed.

"Is this a 'we almost died today and we shouldn't waste time' kind of proposal?" she asked slowly. He finally blinked and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Sort of."

Clary didn't know how to say this without completely stomping on his spirits. "Jace, we don't have to make these wild decisions every single time we almost die."

He shook his head at her and moved his hands up to cradle her face. "It's not like that." he paused, looking up as if he were trying to search for more expletive words. "There's never going to be anyone else for me."

"I - "

"Let me finish first." Jace said, his eyes lowering to meet hers. "I'm never going to want anybody else but you. And I'm not proposing because I feel rushed or pressured by the war, it just made me realize that waiting is pointless. I already know that you're the one, so what's the use in prolonging it? If I'm going to die during this war, I want to die as your husband."

Clary couldn't breathe. It always felt like a wrecking ball of emotion every time he gave one of his ridiculously brilliant speeches. She would trade anything to hear his speeches the rest of her life.

But marriage? The thought of being _married _was simply strange. Marriage didn't seem to hold the same value for her as it did for Jace. But whatever the value, if it meant something more to him then...

"Yes." she murmured, leaning back into the soft covers and pulling him with her.

Everything was blurred as articles of clothing tumbled to the floor, sheets entangled their bodies as heat consumed her body in a way much more powerful than the Institute's fire.

In between deep kisses, Jace pulled away and wound something off his neck. He picked up her left hand from where it gripped the sheets and searched for her eyes.

She returned his stare and found herself getting lost in the endless depth of his golden eyes. Clary glanced down as Jace slid the Herondale ring onto her finger.

* * *

"Finally, you two are here!" Magnus exclaimed, beckoning them in with excitement as he flitted around the room, shooting his magic at random objects and making them glitter. "You know the Herondale manor isn't _that _far from the Lightwoods."

Clary's cheeks warmed and Jace smirked as he held her left hand tightly in his. It seemed to be weightless as his heart still soared. In the early hours of the morning, he had been hauled out of bed unwillingly when Clary received a fire message from Magnus to come here.

But nothing, he doubted even seeing the Seelie Queen's face, could put a damper on his ecstatic mood.

"I'm not sure Maryse would appreciate the sudden redecorating." Isabelle said idly as she perched on top of Simon's lap and played with his hair.

Jace purposefully averted his eyes to avoid yacking all over them.

"We have splendid news." Magnus finally said, his ancient demeanor suddenly replaced by a youthful, glowing expression. He clapped his hands together and stared at them all expectantly, clearly waiting for the appropriate reaction.

Jace studied Alec who also looked rather happy but he noted the underlying worry in his posture.

"Do tell." Simon prodded, his hands rubbing down the sides of Isabelle's legs.

Jace wondered what their definition of splendid was. He had some rather splendid news of his own…

"We're pregnant!" Magnus said airily as he rested his hands atop Alec's shoulders.

Jace immediately turned to read Alec's expression. A faint blush rose to his cheeks but a wide grin spread across his face.

"Well we skipped the pregnancy and the first 4/5 years of the kids' lives but nevertheless! We're going to be parents!" Magnus sang as shouts of surprise and joy came from the others.

"I'm not sure I understand." Jace drawled, but he beamed at his parabatai and Magnus whom, for the first time in weeks, finally looked content. He'd noticed they had been fighting a lot recently and he figured this was the subject of their disagreements.

Magnus rolled his eyes and turned to look at Jace. "Young boy, must I really explain the mechanics to you? The sperm swims to the egg and then fertilization occurs - "  
"No no no no!" Simon interrupted, releasing Isabelle as she bounded off to hug the couple. "I'm not listening to high school biology again."

Magnus couldn't shake the smile from his face as he waved Simon off. "In simple words, we're adopting the Dunce siblings."

Another round of cheers and hugs erupted in the room. Jace darted to the kitchen and returned with a handful of champagne glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He offered one to Alec who looked very pleased as he accepted it.

"Congratulations Alec, this is really something." Jace said loudly, over the wild chatter.

Alec grinned as he tipped the glass up and then began coughing madly as his eyes widened. Jace stared at him confusedly as he thudded Alec's back roughly. Poor boy's gone mental.

"You're engaged?" Alec sputtered, drawing silence from the room as he stared at Clary who's left hand had raised to drink from her glass where the Herondale ring lay comfortably. She halted her movements and looked as if she were trying to hide behind the glass.

Jace found himself beaming again as he also turned to admire his new fiance. "You're not the only one with splendid news."

* * *

Within a matter of hours, hell broke loose.

* * *

"You have to let me plan this Clary come on!" Isabelle whined, linking their arms together as they walked down the street. "You're only going to get married once! It should be special - "  
"Jace and me and a silent brother to officiate is special enough for me." Clary amended, trying to calm Isabelle's drastic ideas before this blew up into the Royal Wedding.

A hurt and offended expression flashed across Isabelle's face. "You would deny your parabatai the honour of being your suggenes?"

Clary glanced down warily at Isabelle's desperate expression and felt her resolve crumbling. "Fine. But nothing huge, nothing fancy. Simple and plain okay - "

Isabelle's face instantly changed to a dazed, dreamy look as a skip appeared in her step. Clary frowned faintly at her enthusiasm. If she knew anything about Isabelle, this would become a huge production.

As they rounded the corner to a busier street, several weepy Shadowhunters approached them, grave looks on their faces.

"I'm very sorry for your loss." one of them said to Isabelle. "It truly is a shame, a great loss to the entire community."

"What are you talking about?" Isabelle said sharply, her hand tightening on Clary's arm.

The woman looked at them sympathetically and allowed her friend to guide her away. As they continued down the street, other Shadowhunters gave them mournful looks that gave Clary a very unsettling feeling.

"You will uphold the Lightwood name, I'm sure of it." an older man said kindly to Isabelle. "I'm very sorry for your - "

"Will you please tell me what I've lost?" Isabelle demanded. The man looked affronted as his eyes darted between Clary and Isabelle with confusion.

"But surely… how can his daughter be unaware? This is outrageous - " the man said more to himself. Clary felt a sinking feeling and Isabelle had a hard expression, she seemed to refuse to link the pieces.

"What are you talking about?" she said slowly, her eyes never leaving the somber man.

"Why, I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you, but your father is dead." he said apologetically.

"Izzy!" a voice called from across the square.

They turned to see Alec and Jace racing towards them, both wearing pained and fearful expressions.

Isabelle broke away from Clary and ran to meet her brothers. "Is it true? It can't be right - "  
"It's true." Alec said firmly, his hands resting on top of her shoulders as she stared up at him with disbelief. "As the head of the LA Institute, he was one of the last few left to defend the mundanes when the seelies invaded."

Jace moved closer to them, reaching his other hand out to Clary who moved forward to take it.

"We have to go." Jace said, struggling to keep his voice steady. "They violated his body and smeared his blood all over Los Angeles. Jia thinks the blood trail leads somewhere, maybe to where his body is."

The Lightwoods were solemn and impressively collected as they took the portal back to the mundane world and away from the safety of Idris. Clary felt like an outsider imposing on their grievance as they stepped out into the city of Los Angeles.

The city was painted in blood. There were smears of Robert Lightwood's blood on the walls, buildings, trees and benches as far as she could see. The mundanes were blissfully ignorant as they continued about their business. Clary envied them.

"Magnus said the portal would take us to the start of the trail." Jace said quietly, his hand reached for his weapons belt.

Wordlessly, Alec, Isabelle, Jace, Clary, Simon and a handful of other Shadowhunters strode down the sidewalk, following the blood paved road.

Clary slid her hand into Jace's, staring straight ahead as he tightened his fingers around hers. He seemed to have accepted Robert's death in stride, but Clary knew he was suffering deep under. Robert had practically been his only true father. Robert had his faults but he had also played a part in healing Jace after he had been broken by Valentine. For that, Clary couldn't bring herself to judge Robert too harshly for his mistakes.

It was a gruelling couple of hours as their group trudged through the mundane world, only speaking to point out the direction of the blood. The sun shone brightly down on them, almost mockingly.

Finally they reached a lonely little alley where the trail ended, and sure enough Robert's body lay splayed and drained at the end of it. Clary stayed back with the others as they stood behind to give his children some respect. But Jace wouldn't let go of her hand and towed her along with them.

Isabelle flung herself down beside her father's remains and tears were tracking silently down her face. Alec seemed to be approaching at a much slower pace, almost reluctant to be near the corpse.

Isabelle suddenly jolted back from the body, falling into Simon's arms as her mouth fell open with horror.

Jace crouched down where Isabelle had been and Clary saw his hand become still over the body. "Max Lightwood is in my hands, Catch me if you can, I'm hidden in the place where two worlds band." he stood to his full height and held the leaf out for the others to read the message. Isabelle let out a sob as Alec pressed his back to the wall and slid down.

Clary was becoming frustrated with the Seelie Queen's theatrics. Wasn't it enough to decorate the city with a man's blood? Now she had to lure them on another hunt to save Max?

"We're never going to find him!" Isabelle screamed, wrenching herself from Simon's grasp as she stormed up and down the alley with rage.  
"We can," Simon assured her. He locked eyes with Clary and understanding passed between them. They would save at least one Lightwood today.

"No we _can't_." Isabelle cried out, her hands gripping her hair in fists. "We should have _known_ from the moment dad was dead, we should have known Max was also in trouble!"

"We have to focus." Jace said, recomposing himself as he crushed the leaf in his hand. "Where do two worlds band?"

"The gates of hell! The gates to heaven! The boundary between Idris and the mundane world!" Isabelle ranted hysterically. "We're never going to find him!"

"It's probably somewhere related to the Seelie Queen." Clary said pleadingly, trying to calm Isabelle down. But she would not be comforted.

A wild and agonized look graced her beautiful features as she turned to face the others. "Everything is related to the Seelie Queen! She has meddled and played with my life, taking things away and making me feel so _helpless_! I'm going to hunt that sick bitch down and I'm going to make her _beg _for death - "

Nobody stopped her tirade as they all tuned her out to think of a place where Max Lightwood could be. It was Simon who interrupted her frantic rant.

"The bridge." he said abruptly. Alec even raised his bowed head from his knees to survey Simon. "The bridge where you can enter the Seelie realm."

Alec pulled himself up to his feet, nodding at Simon with fierce confidence. "I think he's right. Let's go."

It was difficult to convince Isabelle that Simon's theory was likely. She was sobbing and breathless as she shook her head intently at them. Alec had nearly given up and left her with Simon, when Simon kneeled down to whisper something into her ear. Instantaneously, her tears dried and she nodded before joining them.

"We're going to save him." Clary murmured to Jace as Alec filled in the other Shadowhunters. She moved to the brick wall of the alleyway and created the whirling portal.

With one last glance at Robert's body, Clary stepped into the swirling haze and was swept off her feet.

* * *

Jace was instantly sure that Simon was right. But he wasn't sure if he was more relieved or worried that he was.

There, in the middle of the bridge, stood the Seelie Queen with Max unconscious at her feet. Isabelle's scream was enough to set Jace's limbs in motion.

"Hand him over." Jace called out to the queen as she smiled at them wanly.

"I expected you all to figure it out sooner." she said dryly, tracing one long finger over Max's cheek. Jace's muscles tensed as he unsheathed his seraph blade. She raised her eyebrow at his movement, evidently amused. This made his blood boil.

"We've followed two of your trails today. Now give us back the child." Jace said again, refusing to let his anger show on his face. She knew how deeply she got into their skin and Jace would be damned if he let her relish in his pain.

"Tell me where Jonathan Morgenstern is." the Seelie Queen said coldly.

"We've already told you, he's dead." Clary said, stepping forward from beside Jace. He was tempted to shove her roughly behind him.

The Seelie Queen shook her head sadly at her. "You lie."

In a flash, she snapped her fingers and Max woke up but remained pinned to the floor of the bridge. She snapped her fingers again and Max cried out with pain as his body writhed under the invisible chains holding him there.

Isabelle's screams mingled with Max's as she fell to her knees sobbing. Jace felt sick as he watched his brother thrash under the Seelie Queen's hand.

"Please!" Clary called out weakly. "Jonathan is dead."

What would it take to prove to this thick lady that her lover was dead? Gone. Gone where he can't hurt anybody anymore. Jace underestimated her affection for Jonathan as pain flickered across her face.  
"You lie!" the Seelie Queen said shrilly as she snapped her fingers again and Max screamed out with agony. Jace clenched his jaw as he stood helplessly. Isabelle was shaking, trying to tear herself out from Simon's arms as she wailed for the Seelie Queen's mercy.

"Mercy." the Seelie Queen scoffed. "Yes, because I owe you mercy after you savagely incapitated one of your own kind! Give me Jonathan Morgnenstern and you can have your boy back - "

Before she could finish, a portal appeared beside Alec as Magnus emerged from it looking thunderous. A string of other warlocks followed after him. The Seelie Queen looked stunned for a moment before Magnus was firing bolts of magic at her. She deftly dodged them and leapt up gracefully onto the banister of the bridge.

Jace found his feet moving of their own accord as he hopped up onto the railing too, Clary streaking behind him as the Seelie Queen jumped off the edge. Jace's body crashed against hers as he tackled her into the creek below them. At least he had stopped her from escaping to her world.

Clary landed on the balls of her feet beside him, her sword raised and pointed at the Seelie Queen's chest.

Behind them were the shouts of surprise as the others raced towards either Max or the unlikely trio below the bridge.

The Seelie Queen. Finally cornered. Jace's blade was also pointed at her chest as she stood calmly in front of them.

"Don't move." Jace breathed, meeting the queen's cold stare.

It infuriated him how the corners of her lip curled as she smiled serenely at them. Her hand drifted to her stomach as she cocked her head to the side.

"I am with child. You wouldn't dare kill your own niece or nephew would you?" she asked Clary before the creek opened up below her and she disappeared into the water.

Author's Note - Read if you are confused about the queen

I have no idea if its possible for the seelie queen to carry a child, but for the sake of the story, let's say it is… :)

**I'm aware** the Seelie Queen and Jonathan were involved a year BEFORE, and pregnancy should be impossible, but it will be explained next chapter, trust me.

ALSO, I have officially written the FINAL CHAPTER for this story and I'm so excited for you guys to see it. I think chapter 17, 18 and 20 are my favorites! Check back every week for a new update.

Thank you for tuning in for a very eventful chapter! Let me know your thoughts!


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Innocence

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

_He staggered backwards, pulling them both away from the flames. Jace crushed her tightly against his chest as he watched the only home he'd ever known, burn. _

"_Marry me." he said suddenly, without breaking hold of her gaze. _

"_Yes." she murmured, leaning back into the soft covers and pulling him with her._

_Magnus couldn't shake the smile from his face as he waved Simon off. "In simple words, we're adopting the Dunce siblings."_

"_I am with child. You wouldn't dare kill your own niece or nephew would you?" the Seelie Queen asked Clary before the creek opened up below her and she disappeared into the water._

* * *

Clary's head was pounding furiously against her skull as she grit her teeth and struggled to remain upright in her seat. Shadowhunters were congregated in the Gard discussing the breaking news in the Queen's War.

"It is a demon in the making! Look at its parents! It must be terminated!" a man said brusquely, his eyes daring others to challenge him.

"How can we assassinate the Seelie Queen's unborn child? This would wage war with the fairfolk for years to come!" another man said fearfully, his mustache quivering slightly at the prospect.

"The queen lies! How can she be carrying Jonathan Morgenstern's child when he has been dead for over a year? She is not even showing!" a woman said shrilly.

Magnus had a patient expression on his face. "Let's take a moment to remember that the queen can not lie. And seelie pregnancies are different than Nephilim or mundane ones. Not to mention the uniqueness of a half seelie half Nephilim child, and the effects that may have on the pregnancy."

"A demon blooded Nephilim for a father and a seelie for a mother! It's an abomination! We must act now… quickly!" a gray haired woman whose face was streaked with scars cried aloud.

"This will permanently label the Clave as unjust and cruel in the seelies' minds." Magnus interrupted. His fingers were tapping against his arm rest in agitation. "If you ever hope to make peace with them, killing the fetus is not an option."

"How is this even possible? This hybrid is against our very nature!" a short woman with a Russian accent asked. "Nephilim blood tainted with other species is simply dangerous. Consider the half blood Judas for instance."

Clary thought she saw Aline blanch from the corner of her eye but chose not to acknowledge it. There was a sick feeling spreading throughout her body and she longed to escape the confines of this heated chamber.

"It does seem rather ruthless to kill the child while it is in its mother's womb." Jia Penhallow conceded, earning a few reproachful looks.

"We can not risk waiting for it to be born! Imagine the horror it could bestow upon the world!" a bald man with tattoos inking up onto his head, protested.

"Where is Clarissa Morgenstern? Surely the demon child's paternal aunt has an opinion." the gray haired woman crowed bitterly as the room went silent and all eyes landed on Clary.

"Clary what do you make of the situation?" Magnus asked gently.

Clary felt bile press against the back of her throat as her vision swam with angry and accusatory faces. As if she had had a hand in creating this problem...this _abomination_?

"When Jonathan was alive, the Seelie Queen was fascinated, obsessed with his genetic makeup. She admired how he was the most powerful and dangerous creature in the world because of his demon blood. She said it was like watching the birth of God." Clary said slowly, surprised she could even find the strength to respond.

"So she was obviously attracted to the demon and now has its offspring in her womb!" the bald man said sourly, glaring at Clary. She couldn't even bring herself to glare back.

"I think she recognized the potential that a child of her power and his could have." Clary continued. But she was cut off by loud outcries of rage and disbelief.

The Shadowhunters looked stricken and angry at the revelation. Several were clinging to their neighbors, muttering prayers to the angels, others were reaching for their weapons as if they could cut the child out right then. Some were covering their mouths in revulsion as others looked at Clary like she was a criminal.

Clary had known it from the moment the Seelie Queen disappeared off the bridge. This child was not an accident.

"It is a weapon! A weapon for our destruction! There is no question about its fate! We must destroy this before it has the chance to crawl out of the womb and destroy us!" the gray haired woman roared, her voice echoing off of the walls and ringing painfully in Clary's ears.

Kill the child?

"No." Clary said loudly. It was enough to stop the chatter as outraged Shadowhunters turned once more to glare at her. "The child is innocent. You can't kill a child for its parents' mistakes, that is pure evil."

Clary couldn't decipher the full retorts her fellow Shadowhunters gave her but she got the gist of it. Her opinion was not welcomed and would not be considered an option.

"Settle down, settle down!" Alec called over the chaos as he rapped his hand a few times against the pedestal where he stood. Once the crowd quieted, Alec continued. "We do not know how the child will turn out."

"But Inquisitor!" the bald man said earnestly. "We can not risk the child developing under the Seelie Queen's supervision! Imagine the weapon she could nurture, the deadly finesse of the demon child would be impossible for us to destroy! To ensure the safety of our people and the mundanes, it is our duty to abolish the threat before it is fully developed!"

"We can only assume the child has unrivalled powers. To hunt an innocent child in its mother's womb is inhumane." Alec argued, looking tired as he held his composure in front of the others. "I agree that the child would most definitely be raised to be a weapon of mass destruction under the Seelie Queen's charge. Therefore, I propose that we take the child and raise him as our own."

The response to Alec's suggestion was worse than the reaction to Clary's. Shadowhunters looked appalled and offended as protests and shouts broke out again.

"It will never conform to our morals!" the gray haired woman insisted, shaking her head gravely. "This is a demon, an entirely _other _species, we can not hope to tame it."

Clary drowned out the debate and propped her elbows up on her knees, covering her ears to silence the raging voices.

For reasons she could not understand, her heart ached at the thought of killing the child in cold blood. This was her niece or nephew, surely she had a responsibility to offer the child a life that was not tainted with evil deeds and desires?

She recalled a faint memory of Jonathan's eyes returning to the green they ought to have been, just before he died in her arms. The _real _Jonathan, the brother she should have had, unmarred by demon blood and a harsh upbringing. A part of her soul would always crave to know that brother. To have a relationship with that brother.

And now, this child, a child that would have a part of her brother was counting on her voice to save its life. Was she brave enough to do what needed to be done? Was she forgiving enough to look past her brother's mistakes and do her best for his child? Despite the risk it posed to the safety of everyone she loved?

Not to mention the fact that she would have to muster all her perseverance and courage to go against the majority of the Shadowhunters, ultimately marking her as an outcast, a fool, possibly even a criminal for disobeying the Clave.

Deep down, Clary felt obligated to protect the child from the Seelie Queen's distortion and brainwashing. This child had potential for great evil, but it also had potential for goodness…

"There is no guarantee that the child will be wicked." Clary's steel voice cut across the room. She was talking more to her hands than to the others. "I believe that the child can be good if it is not blinded by the Seelie Queen's prejudices."  
"Well then, you're either stupid or incredibly naive." the bald man sneered at her.

"Watch it." Jace snapped, his eyes flashing murderously at the man who glowered back.

"This meeting is adjourned, we shall reconvene to discuss this matter at a later time." Alec said before a fight ensued.

The real fight warring inside Clary's mind was already won. She would save the child.

* * *

Jace had never felt any ill will towards any of his fellow Shadowhunters. They were always his allies, his team and his family. He didn't even hate them when they wanted him dead because of his connection to Lilith. Jace couldn't really blame them, he wanted to kill the monster using his body too.

Now, he wanted nothing more than to punch every single face they passed on the street. The Shadowhunters that filtered out from the Gard were all staring very pointedly at Clary, muttering to each other and avoiding her as if she carried some very contagious disease.

Some even had the nerve to shout insults at her. This was an offence, Jace simply couldn't ignore.

"I can show you where to stick that seraph blade if you'd like!" Jace offered to a trio of young girls who scarpered off at his menacing words.

"Jace, please." Clary hissed at him, gripping his forearm tightly and pulling him away.

He allowed her to lead him away as they escaped down a quieter alley. The distant sounds of insults were following them as Jace hugged her small frame to his side.

Although he couldn't fully grasp the responsibility Clary seemed to feel towards the unborn child, he could understand her intentions.

Childhood and upbringing had everything to do with a person's character. The evidence was clear in the way Jonathan and Jace had turned out. Both raised by Valentine, but treated much differently then and afterwards.

"I'm proud of you." Jace said softly, as blissful silence finally filled their ears. "You were extraordinarily brave to speak out against the majority of the Clave."

Clary seemed unconvinced as she chewed at her lower lip. "They all think I'm insane."  
Jace laughed and nudged her shoulder. "You can be a little insane."

She looked up at him inquiringly. "Do you think I'm wrong about this?"

"I think you carry a burden that isn't yours." he said simply as they emerged on the other end of the alley and onto the wide cobble stoned street.

Most of the Shadowhunter homes were near the central square. It was only a few older family homes that lay on the outskirts of the main city.

Clary looked like she was considering his response when she said; "I know the risk it holds if we let the child live and can't save him from the Seelie Queen." she shuddered and hugged him closer. "It doesn't matter, I don't intend to let the child suffer under the Seelie Queen's twisted sense of love."

"But?" Jace prodded, knowing this was not the core of her distress.

"But I feel guilty about tearing the child away from its mother." Clary breathed, barely above a whisper. A blush colored her lovely cheeks, and she looked away from him quickly.

_Oh Clary._

"I can understand that." Jace said honestly. "But you would be saving the child from a bloody and sinful future. Not to mention the fact that you would be rescuing him from the persecution of the Clave. Because you know they're right, under the Seelie Queen's charge the child would be a weapon to destroy the world and he would have the biggest target on his back."

"I know." Clary sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just - "  
"Go back to Edom!" a voice yelled from somewhere behind them. "Take the demon child with you!"

Jace turned to search for the source of the voice in the darkness behind him and scowled. "Let's just go to the Lightwoods. It's closer than our manor."

He quickened his strides so that Clary was jogging slightly to keep up with him. He needed to get her away from the single minded fools roaming the streets.

Jace also felt a strange sadness that Clary was being unfairly blamed and shamed for her bravery. Nobody saw her courage for what it was, instead believing she was too _sympathetic _to a lost cause, too _nice _to do what was necessary for the Shadowhunters and too _biased _for her relation to the child. Jace was determined to constantly remind her otherwise.

Isabelle opened the door and waved them in hurriedly before slamming and locking the door.

"Clary, don't listen to a word those vultures say." she said as soon as the door closed.

Clary sighed again. "I'm not. I'm just exhausted, this whole ordeal is making my head spin."

Isabelle guided them into the main living room of the house where Max was dozing on the couch, still wearing his white mourning clothes from Robert's funeral.

After their return from the bridge, they had assembled a private funeral for the patriarch of the Lightwood family before joining the others at the Gard. Jace was growing weary of the color white.

"Magnus went to go relay a summary of events to the head warlocks and Alec's taking a call in the other room." Isabelle said, flopping onto the couch opposite Max. She was watching their younger brother sleep with an intensity, Jace shared. Max had suffered tremendously under the Seelie Queen's hand and Jace would make her pay for that.

It had been a long time since Jace had the luxury of sleep. He couldn't even remember the last time…

"The Toronto Institute was the last one standing." Alec said grimly as he returned to the room. "And it's just fallen."

There was a painful and grieving silence that filled the room, as Jace perched on the arm rest of the sofa where Max lay and held Clary's body close to him. If only he could bury his head into her lovely long red hair and forget about his troubles.

"And," Alec said awkwardly, Jace glanced up at him and he seemed to be contemplating something as his eyes rested on Max's sleeping form.

"There's more?" Isabelle groaned, throwing an arm across her forehead. "Why is there always more?"

"Say it Alec." Jace said with resignation. He didn't care what it was, as long as it didn't refuse him the sleep he so desired.

"The Council wants to launch a counter attack on the Paris Institute that's under seelie control. They think it's time to fight back instead of cowering away here in Alicante." Alec explained. "But none of you are expected to fight, they realize we've all been on our feet for well over 24 hours and we're grieving dad - "

"I want to go." Jace said, his longing for sleep disappearing as quickly as it came. Besides, sleep could not possibly shield him from his problems forever.

Alec looked at him stonily. "I was afraid of that."

* * *

Clary and Isabelle were dressed in full gear and their arms were covered in runes as they crept along the shadows of an industrial building that was opposite the Paris Institute.

Jace and Alec were leading the team up the other side of the building as they waited for their cue to attack.

Magnus and a couple of warlocks were supposed to cause a distraction in one of the busiest avenues in Paris; The Champs Elysees.

Magnus had assured them the symbol would be fairly obvious and would be enough to lure the seelies out of the Institute. Once they came storming out of the Institute, they would be ambushed by the teams waiting on either side of the industrial building.

Clary was bouncing on the balls of her feet with impatience as she awaited the signal. Isabelle shot her a questioning look before returning her attention to the doors of the Institute.

Her unease was not because of the approaching battle, but because she feared the appearance of the Seelie Queen. Although the Clave had made no official decisions about the fate of the child, Clary was worried some rash and foolhardy Shadowhunter would make the executive decision and attempt to kill the queen.

The dark possibility had crossed her mind before she could suppress it. If Clary were to encounter the Seelie Queen in her late months of pregnancy, could Clary bring herself to slay the beast only to cut out the child and save it from a horrendous future? It was a heartless thought and Clary felt disgusted for even thinking of it. Yet the possibility remained, and that made it so much worse.

Nauseated in her place, Clary gripped her sword tightly as she glanced over her shoulder to search for Magnus' signal. A few minutes later and she was not disappointed.

The morning sky exploded in lights that resembled fireworks but had a distinct air of magic to them. She peered over her shoulder as they waited for the seelies to file out and be greeted by rune shaped lights hanging in the air.

She shook her head at Magnus' extravagantly fulfilled promise and turned her attention back to face the Paris Institute. The magical fireworks were causing quite the ruckus as the doors to the large Institute swung open and seelies began pouring out with spears and irritated expressions.

"Some rebellious warlock needs to be put in his place." the stout man in front grumbled loudly. "This Institute really reeks of Nephilim - "

Isabelle sprinted out from the blanket of shadows the building cast and Clary followed after her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Alec and Jace's teams surging forward as they narrowed in on the unsuspecting seelie forces from two sides.

The stout man squinted against the sunlight and his eyes widened with shock as they charged forwards. Isabelle's whip reached the stout man first and it coiled around his nonexistent neck and she pulled.

Clary ran forwards to meet a broad shouldered seelie who had shoved his way past the other guards and was bulldozing towards her at an alarming speed. She just managed to duck his blow to her head and sidestepped his spear.

His fists were quite literally the size of her head as she backed up a few steps. The seelie was unrelenting as he jeered at her, spinning the spear in between his two fingers before lunging forwards.

Clary waited till he was close enough before knocking the spear downwards so that it pierced into the earth. He raised his head and bared his teeth at her. Clary brought her foot down sharply and it snapped the spear in half.

As the seelie roared in rage, Clary spun in an arc and swiped her sword cleanly through his neck. She didn't check to make sure he was dead, feeling a sick lurch in her stomach as she wheeled around for her next opponent.

Isabelle was fighting off three seelies at once and she didn't appear to be needing any assistance. Nevertheless, Clary moved towards her and cut down one of her attackers. As his figure crumpled to the floor, she caught sight of Isabelle's face lit up with laughter as she slashed her whip across one of the remaining seelies.

Clary stepped over the fallen seelie and drove her blade into the second seelie's chest with a squelching noise that bothered her ears. She turned and dragged the blade across the last seelie's back as Isabelle's whip cut across his front and he too, joined his brothers on the floor.

There weren't many seelies left as the majority of them had been slain by the overwhelming number of Shadowhunters and others were fleeing into the streets of Paris.

Clary had just finished driving her sword repeatedly into a seelie's chest as his vise like grip around her neck slackened. She raised her fingers to brush over the tender skin, already feeling the bruises forming.

She turned to search for a familiar face and felt her blood run cold as her eyes landed on Isabelle. Isabelle had just beheaded a tiny seelie when another guard had launched his spear towards her. Her back was turned to the sharp spear that whistled in the air as it closed in on her. Clary felt helplessness claw at her insides as she ran to Isabelle, her shouts silenced by the roar of the battle.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the seelie who had thrown the spear grinning in the distance. Clary watched with horror as the spear was about to strike its target when another seelie figure darted in between.

Isabelle turned around when she heard the movement and her eyes clouded over as Meliorn fell to his knees, the spear hilt sticking out of his chest.

Clary couldn't bear watching Isabelle as she gripped Meliorn's shoulders tightly and shouted into the chaos for help that would not come.

The guilty seelie brushed by her shoulder in an attempt to escape the fight and Clary grabbed the hilt of her dagger and sent it spinning after the soldier. The dagger struck the back of his head and his flight was abruptly halted.

There were loud cheers behind her as she turned to see the Shadowhunters huddling together with victorious cries. Magnus seemed to have returned in time for the latter half of the battle as he and Alec were hoisted up onto shoulders. Several Shadowhunters were piling into their beloved Institute, spouting off a string of excited sentences in rapid French.

Only Isabelle remained on the floor, Meliorn cradled in her lap as blood spurted from the spear point.

Taking back the Paris Institute was the first victory they'd had in a very long time, except, it didn't feel much like winning.

* * *

It was hard to contain the excitement and adrenaline in the air as Shadowhunters piled into the Institute. Some had taken it upon themselves to burn the bodies of the dead seelies, others were still eager to catch the ones that had escaped and gave chase into the bustling streets.

Isabelle had refused to speak to anyone as she clung to Meliorn's dead body. She glowered at Jace and Alec in between her sobs and they accepted her anger without complaint.

They deserved it. They were now indebted to a dead man whom they'd been suspicious of when he was living. The suspect was actually a hero and Jace felt like a fool.

Isabelle had only consented to Clary's touch as she pried her fingers off the body and they moved him elsewhere for a burial.

The sun was setting on the Paris Institute but nobody seemed to care that night was falling. After months of stumbling around in the darkness, grasping at straws and hunting down false leads, this was the cure to their discouragement.

All the Shadowhunters belonging to this Institute along with a handful of others had chosen to stay behind to guard it. Others were to depart back to Idris through scheduled portals.

"No thank you." Jace said with amusement as a bubbly man passed him in the hall, his arms overflowing with champagne bottles. He nearly tripped as he offered Jace a bottle.

He wandered through the beautifully structured halls of the Paris Institute, amazed by the intricate architecture and decorational weapons that hung suspended on the wall. He was tempted to steal one particular short sword that was simply begging for him to put to use.

Before he could jump up and snatch the lovely blade, a pair of French boys came staggering down the hall who had clearly indulged in the celebratory champagne.

Jace rolled his eyes as they nearly smashed into a porcelain vase and he continued down the corridor till he reached a spiral staircase ascending to the second level.

Clary was perched on the fifth step, her red hair discerning her presence from the shadows. She raised her head as he approached and gave him a small smile. It was enough to instantly uplift his mood as he dropped onto the step below her.

He leaned against the opposite end so he could study her face. She looked thoughtful as she spun a dagger in between her small hands, a single worry line appearing on her forehead.

"No celebratory champagne for you?" he asked lightly, trying to gauge her feelings before even attempting to understand them.

She gave him a wry smile. "I don't think the champagne would be offered to me."

Jace eyed her tiredly and leaned forward to pull the dagger out of her hands. "Is this about the Gard?"

"I just don't think they'd appreciate my participation in their festivities. And I don't want to step on anyone's toes, it's really not a big deal." Clary said quietly, taking the dagger back from him and spinning it between her fingers.

"They don't have the compassion necessary to even attempt to understand your intentions. Don't feel badly about their blindness." Jace replied, trying to catch her eyes with his. But she was staring determinedly at the blade in her hands.

"They're afraid, Clary." Jace started again when she remained unmoving. "They're afraid because they don't understand. And it's much easier to feel hatred than it is to feel compassion."

"Or I'm being too blind." Clary said, leaning her head back against the wall. "Tell me, honestly, is saving this child worth the risk? Their feelings may be prejudiced but they're right about the danger it holds. If I save this child from death, only for it to massacre the entire world, I could never forgive myself."

She closed her eyes and traced her finger over the face of the blade. Jace felt a sudden sadness as he listened to her reveal her tortured conscience. "If you had found out that Jonathan was injected with demon blood prenatally, could you kill him while he was in the womb? Just because he posed a potential, unguaranteed threat?"

Clary opened her eyes slowly and finally raised them to meet his. Jace could see the resolution forming behind her gaze. "No."

Without another word, she rose from the step and pocketed the dagger, reaching her hand out for him. He smiled and took her hand, allowing her to pull him up.

As they descended the remaining stairs, a woman with wild dark hair came rounding the corner at full speed, her face pinched in pain as she stared at them pleadingly.

"Have you seen Jacques? Mon enfant!" she cried hopefully. Registering their confused expressions, she spun on her heel and tore down the corridor.

Jace's eyes followed after the woman as she continued to shriek the same question at the Shadowhunters she passed in the hall.

"Come on." he murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading them towards the ops center.

As they reached the end of the long hall, Magnus appeared out of nowhere and grasped Clary's shoulders tightly.

"Have you seen Lilian and James?" he demanded, his cat like eyes darting between Clary and Jace. He felt an unsettling feeling growing in his pit as he shook his head at the distraught man.

"Magnus, what's going on?" Clary asked gently, reaching for the warlock's shoulder but he twisted out of reach and sprinted past them.

They arrived at the archway leading into the ops center. The Shadowhunters had lost their air of jubilation and exuberance. They all wore the same look of dread and misery on their face as the babble of panicked conversation reached his ears.

"I just put Madeline down for a nap! She was right here, c'est impossible Monsieur Inquisitor - "

"Have you seen my Henry? He's about a year old, curly blond hair, green eyes, s'il vous plait Madame - "

Jace's eyes sought Alec in the crowd and he pulled him free of a teary eyed woman's grasp. Alec looked equally as frightened as the other parents in the room, except he hid his concerns neatly behind a perfected mask of professionalism.

"Kids are missing?" Jace asked sharply, Alec's clenched jaw confirming his suspicions.  
"The Seelie Queen." Clary said immediately. "Did she leave a message?"

Alec stared at them blankly, his face stiff with fear as Jace shook his shoulders roughly.

"Alec!" Jace exclaimed. "Pull yourself together, we can't find your kids if you and Magnus are falling to pieces."

He slowly blinked, life returning to his pale features but Jace could read the turmoil in his eyes. Jace waited impatiently for him to speak, his grip tightening on his shoulder as he exhaled sharply.

"All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. '_Children need playmates who lift them up high.' "_

Understanding dawned on Clary's voice. Clary's voice came out strangled as she glanced nervously up at Alec. "The Seelie Queen wants playmates for her child."

* * *

Clary had never seen Alec look so disgruntled and at a loss for words. She watched with sympathy as Jace took over the instructions for the search teams when Alec's words came out jumbled and disordered.

This was a new level of cruelty for the Seelie Queen. Kidnapping grown Shadowhunters was one thing, but stealing their children in the dead of night was barbaric.

"And what are the orders if we find the Seelie Queen herself?" a man with cold eyes and a military hair cut asked, sheathing weapons into holsters Clary couldn't even see.

Jace surveyed the man carefully before responding. "Capture her alive."

The Shadowhunters broke out into a chorus of scoffs and offended screeches as Jace stood calmly on the platform above them.

"She has your children." Jace said loudly. "If you kill, you may never find them again."

Clary knew Jace's argument would be enough to hold off the murderous Shadowhunters for now, but it was one less life she had to worry about.

She turned back to her own gear, sliding daggers into her boots and belt, just barely managing to hide the tremble in her hands. Clary couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with Alec as she felt strangely guilty for the kidnapping of his new adopted children.

Even though she had no part in the crime, she felt guilty about defending the life of the true perpetrator. She could handle the hatred and shunning of the other Shadowhunters, but she couldn't bear the same reaction from Alec or Magnus.

_Children need playmates who lift them up high_. Another ridiculously petulant hand in this childish game the Seelie Queen loved. Only this time, they weren't chasing after hallucinations.

Surely it had to be somewhere in Paris and the only place she could think of was the Eiffel Tower. A deep certainty began to take root in her mind as she ambled towards Alec and Jace and interrupted their strategic conversation.

"The Eiffel Tower. I think we should start there." she blurted. Both their eyes bore into her and she felt as if she were confessing to a crime. Alec's blue eyed stare was the most difficult to meet.

He nodded once and a new set of instructions was given to the teams of Shadowhunters. The doors to the Institute swung open and they ventured out into the cold night.

She felt someone's shoulder brush lightly against hers and she was instantly comforted that Jace was by her side.

Just like Los Angeles, New York and England, the stunning Paris streets were hidden beneath a layer of hideous vines and weeds that sprouted from the earth. As they neared the Eiffel Tower, Clary felt a twinge of nostalgia and peace at the familiar scene.

It was ironic that the place she and Jace had reunited was the same place families were now being torn apart.

The Eiffel Tower was also a victim of the seelies' horrendous taste. The vines twisted up the sides of the tower, covering every inch so that it was almost unrecognizable.

They moved as silently as the night as they climbed up the stairs. The tower looked empty which was strange for such a popular tourist attraction. Unease bubbled in Clary's chest as they finally arrived at the door leading to the top floor.

Jace kicked the door open and they flooded onto the platform. Alarmingly close to the railing, at least a dozen children were sitting on the floor, gripping a toy in their fists as they stared up at the dark clad soldiers filing in.

She narrowed her eyes and blinked with surprise when she saw the toy that the nearest little boy was holding. In his pudgy little fist, there was a toy rattle with a plastic rose on top. Plastic blood was dripping down the folds of the fake rose. Undoubtedly, compliments of the Seelie Queen.

Several parents cried out with relief as they swooped up their children. A quick scan of the room and Clary knew it was never going to be that easy. Lilian and James were nowhere in sight.

One look at Alec's agonized face was enough to confirm, that this was far from over.

Author's Note

WOW six more chapters and then we're done.

TEASER: next chapter is the CLACE wedding !

Let me know your thoughts!


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Winner Takes it All

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_Marry me." he said suddenly, without breaking hold of her gaze. _

"_Yes." she murmured, leaning back into the soft covers and pulling him with her._

"_I am with child. You wouldn't dare kill your own niece or nephew would you?" the Seelie Queen asked Clary before the creek opened up below her and she disappeared into the water._

"_It is a demon in the making! Look at its parents! It must be terminated!"_

"_How can we assassinate the Seelie Queen's unborn child? This would wage war with the fairfolk for years to come!"_

"_When Jonathan was alive, the Seelie Queen was fascinated, obsessed with his genetic makeup. She admired how he was the most powerful and dangerous creature in the world because of his demon blood. She said it was like watching the birth of God."_

"_It is a weapon! A weapon for our destruction! There is no question about its fate! We must destroy this before it has the chance to crawl out of the womb and destroy us!"_

"_All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. 'Children need playmates who lift them up high.' "_

_Clary's voice came out strangled as she glanced nervously up at Alec. "The Seelie Queen wants playmates for her child."_

* * *

The rain was unrelenting over Idris. Each pelet struck the window with a deafening force that reverberated deep within Clary's bones. The tiny droplets tracked their way down the windows, winding and drizzling, and blurring the view of the city.

Clary was nestled into a woolen blanket by a bay window on the top floor of the grand Herondale manor. It was her favorite part of the absurdly humongous house that she felt more like a guest in than a resident.

They had returned last night from Bangkok where they'd taken part in the Institute raid. Since Paris, the Clave had orchestrated battles to reclaim their fallen homes. The fight for the Bangkok Institute was still ongoing, but Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Alec and the newest Shadowhunter Simon, had been forced to return after a long shift on the battlefield.  
The seelies were more prepared now to face the Shadowhunter forces so the battles were longer, harsher and much deadlier.

Each time they returned from a raid, Jace and Alec would try to parabatai track Lilian and James. Each time they were unsuccessful.

And now, Clary was all alone in the manor with nothing but her pessimistic thoughts as company.

The Seelie Queen was not present at any of the recent raids, not that Clary had been expecting her to be, but part of her still craved to see the queen. To see for her own eyes that the Seelie Queen was carrying a child. An innocent child that was untouched and untainted by the wickedness his parents had bred.

A child that Clary felt determined to save.

She traced her finger over a rain pelet that was streaking down the window pane in a crooked path. Her tired eyes followed it as the gnawing feeling in her chest returned to pester her.

For weeks, she'd felt the dangerous and most definitely stupid urge to return to Jonathan's grave. She couldn't explain the impulse to return to this source of sorrow and sadness but it was an instinctual feeling. A feeling she didn't dare share with the others.

In a swift and snap decision, she tossed the woolen blanket aside and grabbed her weapons belt as she strode towards the door. Surely, the worst thing beyond the window that separated herself from Jonathan's grave, was the rain.

It was oddly refreshing to have the rain kiss her cold cheeks as she darted down the cobbled steps of the manor. She pulled the hood of her maroon sweater over her hair to shield its identifiable feature from the world.

This was customary for her trips out of the house as she was trying to avoid confrontations with other Shadowhunters and crude comments from open windows.

Not all the parents had been reunited with their children on top of the Eiffel Tower, and it was clear they were holding Clary responsible. As if her blood relations to the Seelie Queen's child was a punishable crime.

She reached for her stele and began to draw a portal against the fence. Before she could reason herself out of this reckless decision, she stepped into the glowing haze and disappeared from the yard of Herondale manor.

Clary stepped out onto the muggy grass of the graveyard. Apparently, New York was also under the vicious downpour. She walked stiffly across the wet grass and lowered herself against the mundane headstone where Jonathan's grave was.

She leaned her back against the smooth marble and closed her eyes as the rain continued to fall down like fat teardrops against her cool skin. The rain glinted off the stele in her hands and trickled down the face of the Herondale ring.

She sighed as she knew her time was limited. This visit would have to be nonexistent to Jace so she had to return before he realized she was gone. Clary didn't want to imagine his outraged expression if he discovered her secret trip.

Ever since discovering about the pregnancy, Clary had been on the receiving end of nearly as much hatred as the seelies. She tried not to take it too personally. In times of stress and change, people sought for a scapegoat. Someone to hold responsible for their troubles. And if Clary saved the child who would be their ultimate downfall, then perhaps their accusations were not as misplaced as she thought.

She shuddered as a vision of a foreboding future came to mind. Rolling clouds that floated across a sky of ashes and smoke. Cities as graveyards, people falling like dominos across the street. The ground shaking before tearing up from the roots to reveal a pale heart shaped face boy, bronze hair and black pit eyes. The most deadly and beautiful creature in the world.

He would advance on the cowering Shadowhunters, with nothing but a seraph blade in his hand. His face would be carved of marble, sharp and mesmerizing as he manipulated the earth to kill his opponents. The young prince would callously traipse through the sea of bodies, an intricate crown of thorn and Nephilim adamas set neatly on his head -

"The rain is a soothing thing isn't it?" a voice chimed pleasantly from the shadows.

Clary's head snapped up as her eyes penetrated the darkness, seeking the source of the voice, though she was already certain of who it was.

The Seelie Queen stepped out from the darkness of a thicket of trees and her hands were raised slightly in front of her. "Please, do not be alarmed, I'm merely here to visit my Jonathan."

Clary stared at her unconvinced, one hand already on the hilt of her seraph blade. As if sensing her discomfort, the Seelie Queen lowered herself to the floor about 10m opposite from where she sat.

The gnawing feeling in her chest intensified immediately and Clary felt slightly guilty for even daring to lower her guard in front of the most dangerous woman on the planet. Why was she sitting here in the most vulnerable position with the Seelie Queen? Shouldn't she be calling for backup? Shouldn't she be doing something besides oogling at the woman across from her?

The Seelie Queen wasn't looking at Clary. She was staring beyond her at the headstone and her eyes misted over infinitesimally. Clary's stomach lurched as she recognized the look on the woman's face; grief. The suffocating, unforgiving kind that clouded over reason and woke up every single demon inside.

All Clary could do, was stare at the woman with _pity._

"Did you know it was a boy?" the Seelie Queen asked with a humorless laugh. "You're going to have a nephew and I'm going to have a son."

Clary was silent as she studied the Seelie Queen. Her lips were pursed, the corners of her eyes tightened with anxiety and her posture was ramrod straight. And there was a very noticeable enlargement of her abdomen area that made Clary shiver. _A nephew_.

"As if it matters." she said curtly. "Your kind will try and kill my child whether it's a girl or boy or something in between."

She finally turned her sharp eyes to Clary. Her face was unreadable as she drank in her huddled and soaked form. "Clarissa, I'm certain that you consider yourselves the heroes of this tragic story and I am, of course, the villain?"

Clary just stared back at the regal queen who sat opposite her. Rain was catching in her lovely red hair and all Clary could do was stare, when really, she should have her weapons unsheathed and a much more defensive posture than her current huddle.

"Then tell me, how can you give your life to the service of an institution as cruel and ruthless as the Clave? A ruling hand so biased and entitled that they would plot to carve an innocent child from its mother's womb?"

"I don't." Clary's voice echoed in the graveyard. "I don't agree with their methods."

The Seelie Queen inclined her head to the side and her eyebrow arched with doubt. "Yet you would continue to fight for a corrupt cause?"

"I don't agree with their methods." Clary repeated, her eyes following the seelie's every movement. "But I don't intend to let the child be raised under your charge."

The queen tilted her head back with trilling laughter as she rested her hands behind her. "Do you think that the rigid and old fashioned Clave would even tolerate my child in Idris? They won't even _acknowledge _the fact that he's part Nephilim. Tell me, how can you even defend an institution so brash and unloyal to someone of its own kind?" her voice turning to ice at the end.

Clary had no words to offer in response. As much as it bothered her to admit it, part of what the Seelie Queen was saying was true. The Clave would never accept the Seelie Queen's son.

"You can think of me what you will." she continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."

"And yet you have kidnapped some of our children." Clary snapped, her stomach twisting as she remembered the small and wide eyed faces of Lilian and James.

"C'est le jeux." the Seelie Queen said airily, as if it were explanation enough. _That's the game._

"It's a wicked game." Clary said coldly as the rain seeped through her sweater and pricked her bare skin.

"Do you know how games work Clarissa?" the Seelie Queen asked, her blindingly beautiful smile flashing at her. "There is always a winner and a loser. And I'm offering you the chance to join the winning side. The side that doesn't hunt and crave the death of an innocent child."

The side that would kidnap children, torture and kill others, and start a tangled game of life and death, Clary thought bitterly.

At her stony silence, the Seelie Queen smiled knowingly. "I thought you would say that."

And then she disappeared into the graveyard ground, like she was never even there.

* * *

"Jace I can't believe you were _2 hours _late to your fitting!" Isabelle shrieked as soon as he crossed the door frame. He instantly wanted to wheel around and bolt right back out.

"Some demons wandered across our path." he said sheepishly, shooting Alec a wary look.

"This is your _wedding_ Jace, it only happens once in a lifetime! You ought to show a little more interest." Isabelle admonished, spreading out a handful of color schemes across the oak dining table in the Lightwood's house.

He tried to sneak around her but she caught his arm and dug her nails in painfully. "By the angel Isabelle, why do I have to sit through this while Clary gets to go demon hunting?"

"Because Clary is teaching Simon how to properly behead a demon." Isabelle said simply. "Which leaves the groom to make the executive decisions on the color scheme."

Jace sighed dramatically as she forced him into the chair beside her. "Can't the suggenes make the decision?"

Isabelle scowled at him as she straightened in her chair and began explaining the options to him. Alec looked entertained as he tossed his weapons belt by the floor beside the couch. He shot Jace a smug look before flopping onto the soft cushions and closing his eyes with an irritatingly gleeful expression on his face.

"Just do something red." Jace cut across Isabelle's passionate speech about the delicate offspring of blue and pink. "Clary and I both like red."

Isabelle's lip curled as she pulled out an entirely separate folder overflowing with shades of red and she smiled angelically at him. "Fine. Which _kind _of red do you prefer?"

Jace groaned loudly as he slouched in his seat while Isabelle started a new speech about the tones of red and off whites he should consider. 10 minutes into her rant, Jace shoved his hand into the large binder and randomly sifted around before waving the color in front of Isabelle to silence her.

"I want this one. I'm the groom and this is the color I would _love _to have." he said half serious, half sarcastic as Isabelle's lip curled and she snatched the color swab from his hand. Jace grinned with relief as he began to rise from his chair.

She roughly forced him back down and he looked at her with exasperation. "What now?"

"Cake testing starts in 20 minutes. Until then, we need to go over the menu for the evening." Isabelle said, heaving another large binder out from God knows where.

The binder could have been stacked lengthwise 3 times to reach Clary's full height.

"Just give them macaroni and cheese and a bottle of whiskey each." Jace said briskly.

He gulped as Isabelle's arm muscles flexed in order to flip open the binder. He heard Alec snort from the couch.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he snapped, crossing his arms with annoyance as Alec buried his face into a pillow to hide his amused smile. Bloody traitor.

"You ought to be grateful I'm helping you plan this." Isabelle said coolly, when she noticed Jace was nodding off somewhere in between page 50 and 100. "Planning the perfect wedding while a war is going on is more challenging than you give me credit for."

"I'm not sure it's the best idea anymore." Clary's voice said dryly as she and Simon trudged in from the door. His mood brightened immediately and he opened his arms towards her.

"Save me." he begged, as she laughed and perched on the edge of his lap. Jace's arms hugged her waist as he hid in her long curls.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle said with a stricken look on her face.

"Exactly what you said." Clary replied quickly, giving Simon a pointed look. He instantly moved to rest his hands on top of Isabelle's shoulders. "There's a war going on right now and I'm not sure a wedding is appropriate."

"Nonsense." Isabelle said with relief as she returned to flipping through the thick binder. "A wedding is exactly what we need to boost morale. And it's a good show of strength to the seelies that we can still celebrate our love and happiness in a time of despair."

Jace pulled Clary closer against his chest and eyed his sister wearily. "So our wedding is a public relations stunt?"

"Essentially." Isabelle agreed, beaming at them from her seat.

Jace shook his head and looked up at Clary. She had dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders were still tense with stress. "My love, I think we should just elope."

"Don't you dare." Isabelle warned.

Clary's fingers ran through his hair, alleviating all the stress Isabelle had just forced upon him. He buried his face against her shoulder and breathed deeply, relishing in the feel of her skin.

The doorbell sounded and Alec fell off the couch with surprise, cussing as he righted himself. Jace smirked to himself, serves you right traitor, he thought.

Isabelle stood up and clapped her hands together. "Cake testing!"

Jace groaned again, wiping the smirk right off of his face.

* * *

The days passed in a blur of rush, leaving little to no time to rest. The days were spent fighting for fallen institutes and the nights were reserved for wedding preparations and if Isabelle felt generous - sleep.

They'd managed to take back Bangkok, Toronto, Buenos Aires and Mumbai. It was a small victory compared to the losses. The war was weighing heavily on the Shadowhunters as they returned from battle with smaller numbers and broken soldiers.

"Still wanna save the demon child? My wife is dead because of you, you stupid bitch." a man said in between strangled sobs, as his family ushered him into the house.

Clary winced as his words hit her and she pulled her hood more securely to hide her hair. She slipped into a side street, hoping to avoid the large crowds returning from another day's battle. Clary would have stayed with Jace to help give iratzes to the injured but her presence was met with nasty remarks and curses. Jace had yelled back at them in her defense but Clary didn't want to stay and cause more trouble to the critically maimed.

She had to put on a brave face and assure Jace she was fine to keep him from tearing after her. The hospital needed him more than her selfish desire to keep him by her side.

Isabelle all too willingly invited her back to the Lightwood house to spend the night before the wedding anyways.

Night was falling over the city and Clary could see the faint outline of the Lightwood house in the distance.

The grieving man's words hurt her more than she let on. How could she have pitied the Seelie Queen when she was ordering the death of her fellow Shadowhunters? Her guilt intensified when she recalled the truth behind the Seelie Queen's claims and the fact that she agreed with them.

She was the worst kind of hypocrite for fighting for the Clave when she didn't believe in their methods or ideals.

Isabelle opened the door and pulled her inside, already wearing a pale silk robe. She smiled at Clary as she led the way upstairs where an identical white silk robe lay on her bed.

"We have the whole house to ourselves tonight! Alec, Simon and Magnus are going to play with Jace in the Herondale manor and we can do pedicures and manicures and Clary, are you _crying?" _Isabelle broke off incredulously as she pulled them both down onto the bed.

She was surprised to find that her cheeks were in fact, wet with salty tears. This made her cry harder, obscuring Isabelle's alarmed expression from her view.

"What's wrong?" she pleaded, gripping her forearm. Clary was hugging her abdomen so tightly it hurt to breathe but Isabelle was unsuccessfully prying her fingers off. "Is it the wedding? Are you really dreading it that much?"

Clary's sobs came out ragged as she couldn't clear her throat to speak. It was like her months of internal suffering, guilt and self loathing came pouring out in a flood of tears that stained her cheeks and fell onto the soft duvet.

Isabelle was not sitting on the bed any longer and she was pacing in front of her frantically. "Clary, talk to me! Do I need to call Jace? Oh you're not supposed to see him the night before," Isabelle rambled with hysteria. "Oh what the hell, Clary do you want me to call Jace?"

The sound of his name only triggered a new wave of tears to cascade down her puffy cheeks as she shook her head at Isabelle. No, she couldn't let Jace see her like this. See her so defeated over feelings she couldn't even put into words. That was unnecessary to burden him with.

"If you don't stop crying, I'm going to march back to the hospital and haul Jace over here." Isabelle threatened, kneeling down in front of her and staring deeply into her eyes.

Clary abated her sobs to low whimpers which Isabelle seemed to approve as she moved back to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Tell me." she encouraged, using her sleeve to wipe the tears off her face.

Clary looked up at the ceiling desperately, as if it could hand her the answer to her problems. "What right do I have to be marrying the love of my life when all those other people are mourning?"

"Clary." Isabelle's voice broke as she rubbed her arm comfortingly. "You can't live with that kind of mindset."

"It seems selfish." Clary breathed, her tears finally slowing on her cheeks. "It seems extremely selfish and inconsiderate to be flaunting around my happiness and my wedding when others are planning funerals."

Isabelle tugged her hood back so that her hair was visible and she tucked a curl behind her ear. "I'm not trying to sound mean or callous, but in the mundane world or even a normal Shadowhunter world, this is what people _do_, it's life Clary, people celebrate the highs and grieve the lows, that's just what life is and you don't have to feel sorry for being able to live yours. You have _every _right to live yours."

Clary knew Isabelle was right but the truth of her words could not diminish the pain she felt. Guilt for her luck and love and deep shame for feeling so miserable the night before her wedding. If Jace saw her like this, all wedding plans would be shut down and Clary would have to witness the consoling and brave charade that hid his own anguish.

With this in mind, she hastily wiped her cheeks and rose from the bed, reaching for her silk robe. "Where do you keep the tequila?"

* * *

Eyes seemed to follow Jace as he strode down the cobbled street, the setting sun gleaming against his face. Lake Lynn loomed in the distance, the water glimmering with the reflected sun rays, and streamers of red and gold spun around the light posts.

Isabelle may have driven him insane with the wedding preparations but he couldn't fault her for her final plans. Chairs were decked out on either side of an aisle that ended with a flower wreathed arbor, the serene lake visible through the arch.

Twinkling fairy lights were suspended around the chairs that twined their way into the reception area by the sandy beach.

Jace felt a twinge of bitterness as his eyes tracked the edge of the water where he had died at Valentine's hand. It was rather darkly humorous that he was going to be married in the same place.

In spite of this nightmarish memory, it was also the place he'd been saved by more than one kind of angel.

"Is this the part where I offer to get the getaway car?" Alec drawled, as he sauntered up beside him. He peeked at Jace out of the corner of his eye and Jace couldn't suppress his grin.

"I prefer getaway demon powered motorcycles." he quipped, raking his hand through his hair in a combination of nerves and excitement.

"I'm not sure Clary or Isabelle would appreciate that." Alec returned his grin wryly as they watched the seats fill with babbling guests.

Jace smiled to himself as he imagined that Clary herself would probably be relieved to escape this dramatic event on a motorcycle. Isabelle on the other hand would probably hunt him down with her whip and send hordes of search parties after him.

"_There _you are!" a voice snipped disapprovingly from behind them.

"Speaking of the devil." Jace muttered under his breath as he and Alec turned to greet their sister.

She stopped in front of them with a very disgruntled and irritated look on her face. "You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago."

Alec shrugged under his sister's murderous stare. "Jace wanted to hunt some demons in New York as part of his bachelor party and we got carried away."

"Well stand here and wait for the music and then walk down the aisle. Surely, you're capable of following these simple instructions?" she said hurriedly, gripping the crook of their elbows painfully and pushing them into place.

She made a tutting noise with her teeth as she turned Jace to face her. He watched bemusedly as Isabelle righted his bow tie.

"Thanks Izzy." he said sincerely. "For everything."

She shook her head at him, a bright smile disputing her annoyed expression and disappeared down the other end of the aisle.

"Face forward." Alec scolded, lightly slapping his turned cheek so that he was positioned towards the altar. "Now walk."

The light trills of the piano floated across the air as Jace and Alec stepped out onto the aisle. He saw Max, Simon, Magnus, Maryse and Luke sitting in the front row and shot them a smile before taking his place underneath the garland archway. Alec smirked at him as he moved to stand at his flank.

A surprising sensation of nervousness shot through his veins as he turned to wait for Clary. Isabelle came first in a dark red floor length golden beaded gown, whacking him lightly with her bouquet before moving to stand on the other side.

Then it was like everything else faded away. His nerves became impatience and his worries became meaningless as Clary emerged. Her wild red hair, knotted at the nape of her neck, her eyes burning with an indescribable feeling, he surely mirrored. A long veil cascaded down her back, giving way to an enchanting white gown. The material of the dress hung off of her shoulders, falling into a v shape at her chest. It clung to her body with every step she took, bringing her closer to him.

And her smile. A smile that could have ended wars, was radiant as she finally came within arms reach. He wanted to crush her close against him and close the seemingly infinite distance between them but it was all he could do to extend his hand out without falling to his knees and spilling out an embarrassing monologue.

Who needed oxygen when she was looking at him like that?

He couldn't bring himself to feel ashamed that he was not listening to a word that Brother Jeremiah was saying. Clary was too beautiful not to dedicate all his attention towards her, not that he had a choice, his eyes instinctively sought hers and searched their endless depth.

Jace only remembered to breathe when Alec came up behind him to hand him a stele, his other hand punching him lightly in the back so the guests couldn't see. He would remember to thank Alec for that later.

He unwillingly drew his eyes away from her face to look at her wrist where the stele pressed down and inked his vow of eternal love. Clary's finger traced over the bare and tender skin of his left wrist before her stele was tracing the same rune.

If there was a way to feel even closer, more intricately bonded and connected to someone than he already was, Jace was feeling it.

Willpower was pushed to its limits as he did his best to avoid being rude during the Silent Brother's speech, his hands itching to pull her closer.

As the final words fell from the Silent Brother's sewn mouth, Jace collided with Clary, his lips seeking hers after what felt like years of being apart. The rushing roar in his ears was deafening as a deep gasp rose to his lips.

Dazed and breathless, they reluctantly pulled away and turned to greet the rumble of the crowd.

* * *

There was no way Clary knew all these people, yet somehow they all seemed to know her. She was taken aback by how many high ranking Clave members had attended the ceremony and reception, giving her hand shakes and words of congratulations.

As the night dragged on, more individuals crowded the dance floor, some swaying to the music, others danced shamelessly, fueled by the strong cocktails. Clary was entertained as Luke and Maryse propped a two way straw between them and slurped a peachy beverage as they flounced around the dance floor.

Her eyes swept across the room and halted on Alec and Magnus. They had their arms around each other in a comforting and intense way that made Clary's insides squirm with remorse. She couldn't imagine how torn they must feel, to be sitting at a wedding reception when their kids were kidnapped by the Seelie Queen. An idea began to shape in her mind.

She turned to watch Jace who was sitting by her side. His face was lined with laughter as he tossed a chocolate coated strawberry at Max as he passed. She felt certain he wouldn't mind her request… in fact he'd probably leap at the opportunity to take action…

But she would wait till they were alone. She wouldn't darken this joyous occasion for either of them.

It was hours of inappropriate dancing, heart felt toasting and 'thank you for comings' till Jace and Clary were twisted together in the sheets of Herondale manor.

"I have something to ask you." she breathed, propping herself up on her elbow to look at him. He had a blissful, carefree expression she felt wretched about ruining. Her resolve almost faltered but then she remembered Alec and Magnus' faces at the reception and she shouldered on.

He turned his head lazily to look at her and caught a loose curl in between his fingers. "Ask me anything."

"How would you feel," Clary began, following his face carefully for signs of disappointment or sadness. "If we spent our honeymoon in battle?"

Jace's eyes widened fractionally before the corners of his lips tugged upwards of their own volition. "Any battle in particular?"

"I was thinking about the Seelie Queen and her obsession with Jonathan." Clary explained, shivering slightly at the memory of them sitting in the graveyard. Oddly enough, she felt like she was betraying their private conversation. "And I think, no, I _know _that she is going to be very protective of his grave. I think we should lead an attack there to lure her out. Then we can use her to get the kidnapped kids back."

Jace's expression was a mixture of awe and thoughtfulness as he registered her plan. "And what do you plan on doing if she does make an appearance?"

Clary had her answer ready, she'd known for a long time now. "We capture her, keep her prisoner until she gives birth, we save the child and then, we kill the queen."

She waited anxiously for him to say something in response to her monstrous plan. It was as ruthless as the Seelie Queen had accused her of in the graveyard but Clary knew where her loyalties lay. It was not to the queen and their shared value of the child's life, it was not to the Clave despite years of protection it had given her. Her loyalty was to the child. She would save the child.

"When can we start?" he asked, a burning glint returning to his eyes.

* * *

Jace reached eagerly for his favorite seraph blades that were suspended in the weapons room of the house. He sheathed them into his belt and dug through the drawers to pick more blades from his swelling collection.

Without turning around, he knew that Alec was standing at the door.

"I really appreciate this." he said in a low voice.

"You don't have to say anything." Jace assured him, caressing the face of the kindjal before strapping it to his back.

Alec frowned as he inched into the room, his fingers toying with his crossbow. "But I do. You and Clary don't have to do this, especially right now."

Jace shrugged as he snapped the drawer closed and yanked open the closet. His heart leaped gleefully at the wall of weapons. "It was her idea, we should see it through."  
"But Jace, even for you," Alec chided. "You can't possibly tell me you'd rather fight demons than spend another day in bed with Clary."

His fingers danced over a tray of daggers, his lips twitching as he considered which one should be lucky enough to be in this battle. "Of course not. But she's right, there's no time to wait, we have to save these kids."

"But Jace." Alec persisted, his hands clenched around his bow. "That doesn't mean you and Clary have to be involved, we can handle it - "

"Alec." Jace interrupted, swiping up the daggers from the end of the first row. "It's the right thing to do. We've been fortunate enough to have our extraordinary day and now it's time to bounce back to reality."

He looked unconvinced as he watched Jace close the cupboard and bend down to dig through a large bin filled with wrist braces. Alec rolled his eyes. "What? Shadowhunting is strenuous on the wrists."

"Jace," Alec began again.

"Alec." Jace said teasingly as he strapped on the brace. "Stop worrying, you're going to go prematurely gray. Not that Magnus would mind I mean he seems to fancy you even with that awful haircut - "

"I'm serious." he said oh so seriously. Jace weighed a short sword evenly in his hands as he met Alec's steely stare.

"Will you calm down? You should be pleased I've found myself a woman who doesn't mind spending our honeymoon slaying bad guys, because I'm certainly content." Jace said dryly, before sheathing the sword and striding towards the door. "Come on, before I stab you with my sword."

Alec begrudgingly joined him as they jogged down the quiet street leading up to the Gard where a portal was waiting. The rising sun cast a luminous pathway for them to follow as they ascended the steps to the glowing portal.

Jace darted through first and he heard Alec's weary sigh as he followed after him. He smiled to himself as he stepped out onto the dank grass of the mundane graveyard. Clary was convinced the Seelie Queen would have guards hidden nearby to protect Jonathan's grave, and she was right.

As soon as the first few of them stepped onto the parched grass, seelies loomed from the copse of trees. It was mind boggling how the Seelie Queen would send soldiers to defend a grave of a man whom she passionately believed was alive. It only confirmed the well known fact that she was insane.

His smile was wiped off his face as they advanced towards the seelies. Only they weren't seelies. Well they were, but they were smaller, skinnier and much, much younger. By the angel, that witch was heartless.

His fellow Shadowhunters seemed to freeze at the sight of the seelie soldiers timidly walking towards them. _Child soldiers. _

Jace's weapons seemed deadlier than usual as they weighed against his shoulders and taunted him from his belt. He knew war was cruel and unjust but this was simply inhumane. For the first time in his life, he was reluctant to kill the enemy. He knew this was the queen's cunning strategy; to play on the Shadowhunters' sympathy before they were slaughtered.

"Capture, don't kill." Alec ordered, echoing Jace's sentiments as the first line of seelie child soldiers charged towards them.

Not to mention how disrespecting it was to fight over a graveyard.

It was a sickening and revolting thing to raise a weapon against a child. He nearly couldn't bring himself to do it. But the adolescent seelie running towards him wore a bloodthirsty expression that suited the three pronged spear he was wielding.

Jace easily blocked his murder blow and twisted the spear out of his hands. The stunned look on the child's face was enough to make him hesitate. In that second, Jace was kicked sharply in the chest and he was knocked onto his back.

He rolled away as the child seelie plunged a sword down, narrowly missing Jace and pierced the earth instead. Jace didn't feel as bad about slamming the heel of his blade into the child's knee caps. With a cry of pain he fell to his knees and Jace cuffed him.

Leaving him with a trio of other captured seelies, Jace was warily approached by a female soldier who brandished her spear skillfully but uncomfortably.

"You can surrender your weapon and let me handcuff you. We won't harm you for that." he called out evenly. He could see the temptation in her eyes but she continued to hold her weapon tightly.

"I can't. None of us can." she replied, almost sadly. In a flash, her spear was poised at Jace's jugular. But he already had his blade pressed between her shoulder blades.

Her eyes were wide with fear and amazement and she didn't fight back when he pushed the spear away and turned her around to cuff her hands. The work was sickening. The queen knew the Shadowhunters would win, and possibly even slaughter the seelie children. And she didn't care. Children shouldn't be expendable or used this way.

It didn't take long for the Shadowhunters to capture most of the seelie children. They didn't escape unscathed. There were about 3 Shadowhunters slain and more than a dozen injured. Most were injured trying _not_ to seriously hurt the seelie children. But they had managed to avoid killing any of their enemies, not that it made Jace feel much better.

There were more than 50 child soldiers bound and huddled together amongst the gravestones and it was wrong to see them that way.

In the time it took for the child soldiers to intercept the Shadowhunters' invasion of the graveyard, more powerful seelies had sprouted a thick growth of venomous trees and plants that blocked the pathway to Jonathan's grave. It would take days to hack through the vegetation and circumvent the poisonous plants in there.

A surge of disgust bloomed in his chest. The child soldiers were not just meant to play on their sympathy, but they were a distraction. So the more experienced seelies could shield her precious lover's grave without doing any work herself. In some ways this was more tragic than any of the other battles.

He tore his eyes away from the harrowing scene and retreated to the first aid area where Shadowhunters were being mended. A bob of red hair in the back of the crowd caught his attention and he made a beeline towards it.

Clary was sitting on an examination table. Jace immediately raked her body for serious signs of injury. Several gashes were stitching themselves up on her thighs but her face looked pale and ashy. Aline left a swatch of blood on the table beside her and squeezed her hand before turning away. She gave Jace a weak grin before moving to help another soldier.

"What's wrong?" Jace asked, trying to read her blank expression.

It was painstakingly slow as she raised her eyes to meet his and life returned to her cheeks when she said; "I'm pregnant."

Author's Note

In case anyone was interested, the AU dream Clary had in chapter 11 foreshadowed these events (Seelie queen pregnancy, Clary pregnancy) - you'll see the dynamic to this as the story progresses.

This was certainly a heavy chapter. Only 5 more chapters left till the end! Let me know your thoughts!


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Dear Christopher

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_I am with child. You wouldn't dare kill your own niece or nephew would you?" the Seelie Queen asked Clary before the creek opened up below her and she disappeared into the water._

"_It is a demon in the making! Look at its parents! It must be terminated!"_

"_When Jonathan was alive, the Seelie Queen was fascinated, obsessed with his genetic makeup. She admired how he was the most powerful and dangerous creature in the world because of his demon blood. She said it was like watching the birth of God."_

"_It is a weapon! A weapon for our destruction! There is no question about its fate! We must destroy this before it has the chance to crawl out of the womb and destroy us!"_

"_All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. 'Children need playmates who lift them up high.' "_

_Clary's voice came out strangled as she glanced nervously up at Alec. "The Seelie Queen wants playmates for her child."_

"_You can think of me what you will." the Seelie Queen continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."_

_Clary was sitting on an examination table. Jace immediately raked her body for serious signs of injury. Several gashes were stitching themselves up on her thighs but her face looked pale and ashy. Aline left a swatch of blood on the table beside her and squeezed her hand before turning away. She gave Jace a weak grin before moving to help another soldier._

"_What's wrong?" Jace asked, trying to read her blank expression. _

_It was painstakingly slow as she raised her eyes to meet his and life returned to her cheeks when she said; "I'm pregnant."_

* * *

Time is a funny thing.

It makes the precious moments seem ridiculously short and the hard moments inconceivably long. Happiness and time must be enemies because they can never coexist for an extended period. On the other hand, time must be intimately fond of pain, because misery tends to overstay its welcome.

Waiting is the hardest. It demands an extraordinary level of patience while it plants these seeds of deep doubt and fear. Fear of the unknown is excruciating. Yet perhaps, an even greater fear of what is certain to be coming is worse. Waiting is the surrender to an inevitable and impending fate.

7 months of waiting.

Clary sighed as she tugged on a pair of fluffy socks, before climbing onto the bay window bench. She propped the paper and pen up against her knees, her arms just long enough to reach beyond her swollen belly.

Where did she leave off? She tapped her pen idly against the paper as she eyed the thin stack of letters on the other end of the bench. She considered reaching over to check where her last letter had ended, but the baby inside gave a sharp kick in protest. As if it could feel her indecision.

"Whatever you say." she murmured, jotting down the date at the top right corner of the letter.

Ah, that's right. She had just finished explaining how she had defeated Lilith. This letter would carry on with Jace and Simon's mourning and her brother's rebirth. She mentally winced at the thought of Jace. Hearing his name was enough to add another crushing weight against her chest.

The letter momentarily forgotten, Clary closed her eyes as the flash memory of their last full conversation played back in her mind.

"_Say something." Clary whispered, one hand still resting atop of her relatively flat stomach, the other aching to reach for him._

_They had just returned to Herondale manor after the dreadful battle over Jonathan's graveyard. It was darkly humorous that she would discover about new life in a home for the dead. She had been slashed up the sides of her legs when she hesitated too long in the face of a teenage seelie. Nothing an iratze couldn't fix. But Aline had insisted they test her blood for poison, as some of the seelie spears were laced with toxic venom._

_The blood test came back negative for poison, but positive for pregnancy. _

"_What do you want me to say?" he asked quietly. She could see his tense posture from the couch where she sat, the flames of the fire casting a glow over his expressionless face._

"_What you're thinking." Clary replied, finding it absurdly challenging to meet his eyes._

_His jaw was clenched as he turned his stony gaze to her. "Don't make me the one to say it."_

_Clary blinked in surprise. She hadn't known what to expect, anger maybe excitement, but this was neither? "Say what?"  
Jace's expression remained smooth but a crease rose in between his brows. "Well, don't make _me _say it." he half pleaded._

_She looked up at him blankly, long enough for him to sigh and rake his hands through his hair. "We can't bring a child into this world in the middle of a war."_

_Now it was her turn to have an expressionless face. Her hand absentmindedly gripped the shirt covering her abdomen. Too many things were happening at once, too much information, too much responsibility. Her head was swimming with a sudden heaviness that embraced her senses with an unrelenting hold. _

_Her words came out jumbled and incoherent. "You...want...what...but...Jace… " _

_Finally, his composure broke and he made a strange sound in the back of his throat before hunching over, his face disappearing into his hands. "I told you not to make me say it."_

_Her muscles were all frozen in place as she stared incredulously at him. "But we can do this."_

"_It's not a question of if we can do it." Jace's voice came out strained. "We just shouldn't do it. We can't knowingly bring an orphan into this world."_

_Clary sputtered unintelligibly before regaining control of her tongue. "You don't know we're going to die."_

"_I know the chances are high enough. It's not uncommon for Shadowhunters to find themselves in our position Clary. We know the stakes." he said tiredly. _

"_Well I want this baby." Clary blurted, before she lost the nerve. Jace raised his golden head from his hands and his eyes were wide as he met hers._

"_Clary," he said sadly. "We can't. It's cruel to leave a child without parents." _

"_You don't know what's going to happen!" she shouted, feeling herself growing angrier at his defeated attitude. "Is this what you really believe? Is this why we got married? Because you wanted to experience marriage before your expiration date closes in?"_

"_How can you even ask me that?" he said, aghast with horror. "You know why I wanted to get married."_

"_But you don't want a baby!" Clary scoffed, grinding her teeth as she watched his features darken._

"_I never said that." he said, struggling to remain calm. "I said, we shouldn't bring a child into the world right now. Not while there's a war that could leave him an orphan. Or the baby will be raised in bunkers and bomb shelters. Or he'll grow up to be slaughtered in a war of our own making. It's a cruel fate to bestow upon a child."_

"_Or he could be raised in Herondale manor with his mother and father." Clary snapped, trying to blink away the irrational tears. "By the time he's old enough to understand what's happening, the Queen's War could be over."_

"_Could, is the key word here." Jace said sharply. "I know firsthand what it's like to be an orphan. And my parents didn't have a choice in the matter, but we do. I will not subject my son or daughter to grow up the way I did. Feeling unwanted and alone."_

"_You don't know what's going to happen!" Clary yelled, unable to stop the stupid tears from streaming down her cheeks. "Every child is born with the possibility of becoming an orphan!"  
_"_Not like this one." Jace sighed, his jaw clenched again. "I will not allow my child to live the way I did."_

"_Well if we do die," Clary interrupted brashly. "Do you really think Isabelle, Alec, or Magnus and Simon would let our kid get handed off to some random Institute?" _

"_Probably not. If they're not dead either." Jace replied, igniting an inextinguishable rage inside of her. Every breath felt like it burned the insides of her lungs._

"_What's wrong with you?" she breathed, as he hung his head, staring fixedly at the carpet. "You're painting this gloomy outlook for our child's future, assuming the worst for him and for us and God, Jace, if you don't want to have a kid just say so!"_

_His head swivelled up as he looked at her with disbelief. "Of course I want to have the baby." he said with exasperation. "I just won't sentence him to a lifetime of suffering!"_

_Each word slammed into her chest, creating this tight and suffocating pain that resonated throughout her bones. This was not how it was supposed to happen. _

_While she understood what he was saying, understood the rooted trauma and logic for his feelings, this was not the same thing. Hypotheticals and probabilities always held the possibility for a dreary outcome. But how could they live their lives banking on the worst? When the opposite end of the spectrum was an unimaginably beautiful outcome?_

"_I think," Clary started, carefully choosing her words to contain and summarize her internal agony. "It is one hundred times better, for our child to have the opportunity to live, even if it's in a world where we don't exist. He'll know why we died, he'll understand our sacrifices were to create a better world for him, he'll be proud of his parents."_

_He looked at her so intensely, his eyes penetrating every layer of her distress, tunneling deep into her soul before he finally spoke. "Well then consider this. What do you think the Seelie Queen will do when she finds out you're carrying a child?"_

_She looked at him uncomprehendingly, before the terrible realization dawned on her. Mercy was most definitely, not in the queen's nature. But the queen's maternal affection and protectiveness for her own child would surely make her empathize with Clary, wouldn't it?_

"_I think she wouldn't have to find out at all." Clary said steadily. _

_Jace laughed without humor. "As if we could keep anything from her. And you're telling me that you would be willing to stay off the battlefields until after you delivered?"_

"_Of course not." Clary said curtly. "At least while I'm not showing."_

_Jace stood so abruptly, Clary jumped in alarm. "That is exactly my point. A child destined to be an orphan, born into a world plagued with evil, with a massive target on its back and a mother who is determined to venture into battle. Tell me, which part of this entire situation makes any sense to you?"_

_His tone was cold and angry, as he looked at her expectantly for an answer. His face was lined with premature grief for a loss they hadn't even sustained yet. But he was so convinced the child was doomed to die, it made Clary fume with fury._

"_I want this baby. If you can't bring yourself to support this decision, I'll have enough faith for the both of us." she said emotionlessly. _

_Jace moved to kneel in front of her, his hands resting on her knees, his head bowed like it carried an inhuman weight. "Please, Clary. Please don't do this. I'm begging you to see the danger in this, for you and for… for the baby."_

_She placed her hands on both sides of his face, trying to convey some of her hope into his tormented soul. "This is going to work out Jace, I know it."_

_He glanced up at her, his eyes pooling with frustration and desperation. "Then are you prepared to endure the grief? The heart wrenching torture and helplessness if this all goes wrong? Are you prepared to watch one more thing you love torn away from you and trampled on?"_

"_It won't come to that." she said weakly. He pulled roughly out of her hold and stormed past the fire place._

"_Well I'm not." he shouted, vehemently shaking his head. His face was constricted with pain and sorrow, as he looked at her with such crushing heart break, Clary felt her own chest squeeze with sadness. "I can't bear to watch this. Because it's not just you who'll face the consequences. Death on the battlefield, I can accept. But losing this child will kill us both in ways too far beyond repair."_

_And then, he turned and walked out of the room._

* * *

"I picked this up on the way home. Isabelle made it this morning." Jace said, expending all his focus on keeping his voice monotone to filter out the anguish he was feeling internally.

As much as he wanted to scream and argue with her, seeing her so vulnerable and small on the bench, broke his resolve. He set the plate of casserole on the desk beside her, his eyes staring at anything but her.

Jace knew part of him was being the biggest coward in the world for avoiding her and treating her so distantly. But looking at her caused him physical pain. It was the worst kind of hell to look at Clary and see two things he loved so exposed and tempting to death's hand. It made him feel even more guilty, when he caught a glimpse of her relieved face as he walked in the room.

The relieved face she wore each time he returned from another battle. A look he didn't deserve.

The only thing she'd agreed to since their disagreement was that she would sit out for the rest of her pregnancy. This made her both restless, nervous and stressed. None of which was healthy for her but she was inconsolable. Not that he did a great job of comforting her.

This back and forth dance of politeness and coldness was eating him up. 6 months had passed since Aline had discovered her pregnancy, revealing she was already 1 month along at the time. 6 months since their last full conversation. It was really, rather more of a heated argument.

His opinions hadn't changed but there was nothing he could do to sway her decision. And so, being the stubborn fool he was, the most he could muster was speaking the bare minimum and avoiding all nonessential eye contact or touching. Anything more than this was a miserable reminder of everything he would stand to lose in a matter of months.

Jace turned to leave, bracing himself for what he hoped she had forgotten.

"You promised me you'd tell me what happened on the Fields of the Fallen." she called out softly. Her voice held no trace of the sadness she tried so hard to control. Not that he was worthy of her graciousness.

He sighed to himself, concentrating very hard on the wooden floors as he moved to sit on the bench opposite her. She shifted a growing stack of letters out of the way with her foot and looked at him while he stared determinedly out the window.

Last night, Jace had joined the majority of the Shadowhunters as they buried the bodies of Shadowhunters slain in battle. The Fields of the Fallen was a new grave site for soldiers who'd fought in the Queen's War. Much like the Bone City, but there was an air of more intense loss and death.

Only last night was different. Gruesome and terrible. Hauntingly unforgettable.

Clary seemed to read some ghost of horror in his expression because she didn't press him. She waited calmly for him to regain some vocabulary and speech. If it weren't for her persistent and curious gaze holding him prisoner to his conscience, Jace would have jumped out the window and bolted into the night. And so he began;

" _Alec and I had just helped Underhill carry a family of Shadowhunters to a reserved row at the back of the field. _

_The seelies managed to break into one of the institutes we won back and killed an entire family before the alarms sounded and they were arrested. _

_Alec's been a mess these past few weeks. Magnus is holed up in their room, pouring over spellbooks to get Lillian and James back and Alec's been on and off the battlefield each day. We were on our way home, when there was a shout from the far end of the burial field._

_Loud noises are unheard of in the field. We try to be as respectful and solemn as we can to properly honour the dead. So when the man cried out, I knew there was something wrong. _

_I turned around to see what the commotion was about. Shadowhunters were huddled around in a semicircle, two indiscernible figures in the distance. Alec and I moved closer and pushed through the crowds to reach the front._

_A tall Shadowhunter had his seraph blade out. Standing opposite him, completely unafraid and completely unashamed, was the Seelie Queen._

_The crowd was enraged to see her callously trespassing on a somber and private moment, I was too. It was infuriating to see her so uncaring and dismissive as she intruded on this sacred ground. The nerve she had to show her face was astounding._

_I was shocked nobody had tried to ambush and kill her. Only the one man was standing opposite her with his blade raised. And then I saw why. _

_People were waiting with a sick anticipation for the man to deliver the death blow. The strike that would surely end this long war. Nobody wanted to move and disturb or detract from such a pivotal moment. _

"_My son is dead because of you." the man croaked, his sword still poised steadily in front of him. _

_The Seelie Queen was very pregnant, I'd say she's almost to term with seelie pregnancies being different, but she smiled almost kindly at the man. "And now you know how wretched it feels to have people thirst for your child's death."_

_I've never seen Shadowhunters so quiet while in the face of danger. But nobody dared to even breathe, as they waited hungrily and anxiously for the man to use the weapon in his hand. I could see the longing and eagerness in their eyes as the silence dragged on._

_And then, the man moved so swiftly and suddenly, I was impressed he could be so steady after such an unnerving conversation with the queen. _

_The seraph blade soared through the air, and instead of piercing her cold heart, it slashed at her protruding stomach. _

_Surprise rippled through the crowd, the silence thickening with bloodlust as blood spurted from the queen's stomach. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer boldness of the man, I was rendered motionless before hell truly broke loose. _

_The Seelie Queen roared with the rage of a lioness as her hand shot out, seized the man and squeezed the life out of his limp body. Shadowhunters were moving then, charging towards her with their weapons, but she was faster, fiercer._

_In a flick of her wrist, every single Shadowhunter in the front line of advancement was impaled with a thorn. _

_In another flick of her wrist, thorns jutted out from the earth, dismembering the roots and trees, creating a long and impenetrable line of defense. She was a hurricane of rage and disaster as she cast one last look filled with loathing at us. I was disconcerted to find myself feeling sorry for her. The man's intent was clear. He was salivating for the child's death. _

_The queen cradled her bleeding stomach and disappeared into the ground. "_

* * *

Clary was rendered speechless as she drank in the story. She had been mad with worry last night when Jace had failed to return home at the usual time. A thousand explanations had run through her mind. She had contemplated the worst, a possibility so dreadful, she skipped ahead to the next reason. Perhaps, he'd reached his limits for loss and finally decided to leave before the pain became too real.

She had run to the Lightwoods, in a state of wild anxiousness only to be greeted by Isabelle who was nursing an injured Simon. He had been struck badly on the right side of his abdomen by one of the thorns. Isabelle had rushed out a vague explanation of the events on the Fields of the Fallen before returning to work on Simon.

Her nails were non-existent after a couple more hours of excruciating suspense before Jace and Alec appeared at the doorway. All prior awkwardness and distance forgotten, Clary had flung herself onto Jace, half sobbing, half kissing. His arms raised to wrap around her, the only thing between them was her bulging stomach.

And so this was the appalling reasoning for his tardiness.

"By the angel." she whispered as she twisted her wedding band around her finger.

"Yeah." he agreed, his eyes still trained on the scenery outside the window.

As much as she hated to admit it, she also felt a reluctant pang of pity for the Seelie Queen. If she stood in a field surrounded by seelies and one of them had the audacity to attack her unborn child, Clary suspected she wouldn't have been nearly as kind as the queen.

Her eyes subconsciously wandered to Jace again, her chest aching with a different kind of loss as she watched his haggard form lean against the wall opposite her. If Clary stretched her leg out to its full length, she would touch him. A thrill of desire rang throughout her body as she kept her knees locked firmly in place.

One leg length distance separated them. On a deeper level, they seemed to be oceans apart.

"Come to the ultrasound tomorrow." The words were out before she could reel them back in.

Then, for the first time in forever, Jace turned his golden eyes to meet hers. And it was like she could breathe again, the crushing weight against her chest lessened just a fraction but it was enough for her to feel ecstatic.

For months, she'd been staring at him, ogling more like, as she studied him for injuries, for any indication of pain that she knew she was causing him. But he was as controlled and composed as ever. His mask and guards were back down, like they had been when they first met. Now that he was finally looking at her, it was like none of the rest even mattered.

"If you want to." she added quickly, trying to judge his cool expression.

"It might be less uncomfortable for the both of us if I don't." Jace said slowly. Now that his eyes had settled on hers, they seemed unable to pull away.

"Did I tell you it's a boy?" Clary asked, surprising even herself with her response. His eyes softened almost imperceptibly, and the corners of his lips looked like they wanted to smile. "Come to the ultrasound." she repeated, not caring in the slightest if she sounded pathetic.

After the longest minute of her entire life, he said; "Alright."

The widest smile spread across her face and she returned contentedly to her letter.

Months of barely speaking had given her tedious days and sleepless nights to think. Clary knew how deeply her decision affected him. His fears were shared by Clary but not viewed in the same light.

Bringing a child into a war ravaged world was definitely worrying. Of course, Clary recognized the danger it held for both her and the baby. But she and Jace had always agreed that this path they'd chosen was associated with a lifetime of danger. And to Clary, there was nothing different about it this time, except it was danger on a much larger scale.

The orphan factor. To Jace, this was the defining fear of the entire pregnancy. And Clary understood this fear more than he would ever know. But this child would not have the same life that Jace did. This child's parents were stronger, braver and much more capable of loving.

This knowledge was enough to keep her will strong and her faith unwavering.

Now the bay window bench in Herondale manor, didn't feel nearly as lonely, now that Jace stayed in his place, where he belonged.

* * *

It was confirmed. Jace was the biggest, most abhorrent and vile excuse for a man to ever exist. He never would have considered himself a coward, until that day. To be so swallowed up in his own fears, leaving Clary to manage this pregnancy all on her own.

Of course, he'd never abandoned her physically. He cooked or brought all meals to her, made sure she was comfortable and safe. He'd made sure Isabelle or Simon accompanied her to her checkups, being too cowardly to go himself. But that was the extent of his care.

Perhaps, he'd abandoned her in the worst way possible. Emotionally distant, calculated conversation and months of averting eye contact. Jace felt a new hatred for himself accompanied by a great shame for all but ignoring his vows, his promises to her.

He was still wallowing in his fears for the child's future but he forced himself to start behaving in a manner that was worthy of being her husband. And so, he tapped his foot impatiently against the floor of the waiting room as the last patient filed out.

The middle aged Shadowhunter beckoned them inside and Clary stepped up onto an examination table, sighing with relief as she lay down. Jace awkwardly seated himself on a chair next to her table as the Shadowhunter medic began spreading a jelly on her growing belly.

Jace couldn't help being mesmerized by the faint outlines of the baby on the monitor. The medic was babbling about body parts, growth expectations and development, all the while Jace was transfixed on the moving image of the child. His child.

In that instant, his fears didn't disappear but they were abated to the point where they seemed almost foolish. How could he have ever wanted to abort this child? This moving, living and thriving child that he suddenly wanted to hold.

He hadn't noticed that he had rudely interrupted the doctor, butting him out of the way as his hands rested on her cool jelly slick stomach. An almost audible breath of exultation escaped his lips as he met Clary's gaze.

The first touch after months of separation, sent shockwaves of pleasure and relief inside of him. Jace would never forgive himself for missing out on these precious moments.

A lopsided smile overtook his features and Clary laughed, reaching for his face. He found salvation in her touch, leaning his forehead against hers as his hands stroked her bare stomach.

"Well if that's all." the medic said in a high pitched, dismissive tone.

Jace shot her an irritated look and helped Clary down from the table. With her arm looped in his and their fingers interlaced, they left the hospital building for the vibrant streets of Idris.

The sun shone down on the city, reflecting Jace's overjoyous mood as the street twisted past the main square and onto a quieter road. Everything looked brighter, more alive and beautiful as they passed a weapons shop.

"I can't wait to buy him his first sword!" Jace said dreamily, his eyes roving over the racks of blades and daggers.

Clary looked at him warily, her eyes clouding over like they were remembering something fond. "I was afraid you would say that."  
Jace beamed at her as he helped her down the cobbled steps and onto the country lane leading to the older manors in Idris.

"I was thinking about a name…" Clary trailed off, tucking a curl behind her ear as she peered up at him, squinting against the sun rays.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, as the Herondale manor came into view.

She seemed hesitant as she pursed her lips together. "Well I don't know if it's too inappropriate, or weird but I thought, I don't know…" she rambled, struggling to find the right words. "I thought Christopher made for a nice name. I mean it's your middle name and...it was also Jonathan's but I like to think of it as the real Jonathan's name, the name and person no one knew about."

Clary was looking at him so nervously, Jace stopped walking and pulled her closer. "I like Christopher." he murmured in earnest. "It means 'bearer of Christ' which fits the situation. And maybe I was wrong before, this child may just save us in every way a person can be saved."

One look at her radiant smile and he would have welcomed death with open arms and a goofy grin. But in less morbid metaphors, he drew her in and crushed his lips against hers.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go? You hate these things and they'll probably bore us both to sleep. I would love the excuse to ditch the theatrical event and stay in with you." Jace asked for the third time as they made their way to the Gard.

The city appeared to be settling down after a long day, shopkeepers were locking their doors, soldiers were returning from battle and restaurants were queuing up with young customers. Clary knew most of the adults would be gathering in the Gard now for a review on the war and strategy so far.

"I'm not missing out on any more." Clary insisted, trying to hide her puffs of breath. The weather really wasn't helping her with the breathing. "If I have to be sidelined, I need to live vicariously through you or the Gard."

Jace looked dubious and she could tell he was on the verge of arguing, when Isabelle and Simon sauntered up from around the corner.

"Geeze Clary, you're really - " Simon started off before receiving a sharp look from Isabelle. "Beautiful." he finished hastily.

Clary rolled her eyes at him, leaning slightly into Jace's hold to help ease her breathlessness. Having him by her side again had filled the gaping hole in her body, alleviating the weight on her chest. And in a few more months, a baby boy, a miniature Jace would be in her arms. The thought of a smaller version of Jace was such a powerful vision that it consumed her heart with such happiness, she thought she would burst at the seams.

The Gard loomed high on the hilltop as they began the torturous ascent. Clary continuously wiped her face of sweat with the arm of her sweater, vainly trying to subdue her heaving breaths as they mercifully reached the summit.

Jace was right. The meeting was dreadfully boring. Clary could've sworn she saw Jace nod off a few times in the middle of Alec's summary report. The room was growing increasingly humid and stuffy, as people shifted in their seats in agitation, eager for the meeting to finish when a voice rang out in the hall.

"I would like to propose a deal."

Heads were jerked upright from their slouched postures, eyes popped as they watched the Seelie Queen stride into the room. No deadly weapon in the room would have a prayer of incapacitating her. An impenetrable wall of thorns shielded her from every arrow, dagger and sword in the room. A thorn shield surrounded her entire body, moving when she moved. Her face was smooth as Shadowhunters slowed their pathetic attempts to kill her but Clary could see her rage in the set of her jaw.

Clary couldn't tear her eyes away from her swelling stomach that managed to look regal even in the dim light of the Gard.

"How did you get in here?" Alec said, unable to filter the bafflement out of his voice.

"You adjusted the wards so seelies could not enter. But I carry a child with Nephilim blood too." the queen clipped, as if she were a school teacher reprimanding a student. "It is on my order that my soldiers have not invaded your home."

"We don't make deals with criminals." Alec said slowly, his knuckles white from their grip on the podium.

The Seelie Queen's chin came out stubbornly as she regarded him with interest. "I propose we end this terrible war."

"On what conditions?" Magnus asked suspiciously, his hand placed atop of Alec's forearm in caution.

The Seelie Queen smiled wryly at him. "The Nephilim may continue to live in peace here in Idris. The rest of the world and dimensions belong to the Fair Folk. We will return your children unharmed and we will go our separate ways, like we never had the misfortune of crossing paths."

Alec's response could not be heard over the outcry of the crowd. Shadowhunters were cursing the queen, screaming their resignation and launching a new volley of weapons that bounced harmlessly against her thorn shield.

"We have to get Clary out of here." Isabelle murmured quietly, trying to shuffle her way towards the congested staircase.

"No deal." Alec said in a strangled voice. Clary felt a wrench of sadness as Alec turned down his only chance of getting his children back.

"We figured as much." the Seelie Queen shrugged nonplussed. "Then our course is clear. We fight until the last man falls."

As she turned to leave, a small clearing opened up between her and Clary. Her eyes narrowed in on Clary's protruding stomach that was a few months behind her own. The queen halted in her tracks, her jaw working furiously as she fit the pieces together.

"In my long life, I have never encountered a race so consumed by hatred and hypocritical morals." her voice cut across the room like ice. "As I stand here, you continue to savagely attack a pregnant woman, all the while, expecting me to show mercy?"

Clary was barely aware of the fact that Jace, Simon and Isabelle had moved to block the space between her and the queen. But nothing could sever the mental conversation they were having. Her eyes pleaded for the queen to show the mercy she withheld. From one expectant mother to another, her eyes willed for the queen to understand. But maybe that was the problem. The queen understood the feeling all too well.

"Please." Clary breathed, her own hand braced over the hilt of her sword.

Nostrils flaring, the queen's hand caressed her stomach as her lips pulled back in a scowl. "On multiple accounts, the Nephilim have sought the destruction of my child. It seems only fair that I have the same pleasure of returning the favor. Child for child."

And then, the most guttural and animalistic scream ripped across the room, silencing every other sound.

Clary felt certain the sound was coming from her. It perfectly reflected her own internal torment that was clawing in protest against her chest. Because the thought was too terrible, too morally wrong to comprehend. Only the pain was discernible in the chaos.

But it was the Seelie Queen. Hunched over, her crown slipping sideways on her head she braced herself against a thorn branch. Her face was contorted with agony as her other hand cradled her stomach, a pool of amniotic fluid gathering below her feet.

In the split second that the Shadowhunters were rendered speechless, she merged with the ground and disappeared into the darkness.

Author's Note

I wasn't planning on making Clary pregnant but then I had this idea that it would be really interesting if the queen/Clary were both pregnant at the same time

Thanks for tuning in!

Let me know your thoughts :)


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Sacrifice

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_I am with child. You wouldn't dare kill your own niece or nephew would you?" the Seelie Queen asked Clary before the creek opened up below her and she disappeared into the water._

"_It is a demon in the making! Look at its parents! It must be terminated!"_

"_All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. 'Children need playmates who lift them up high.' "_

_Clary's voice came out strangled as she glanced nervously up at Alec. "The Seelie Queen wants playmates for her child."_

"_You can think of me what you will." the Seelie Queen continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."_

_She looked up at him blankly, long enough for Jace to sigh and rake his hands through his hair. "We can't bring a child into this world in the middle of a war."_

_Nostrils flaring, the queen's hand caressed her stomach as her lips pulled back in a scowl. "On multiple accounts, the Nephilim have sought the destruction of my child. It seems only fair that I have the same pleasure of returning the favor. Child for child."_

* * *

This was the end of the world.

Surely, that's what was happening. A flurry of bodies being thrown against the walls with a sickening crunch. Splatters of blood staining the floors in vibrant shades of red. Garbled screams ringing in her ears as Shadowhunters began toppling like dominos.

Clary's mind was still swimming with stubborn disbelief and an unwillingness to accept this death threat to her child, when another snippet of the Seelie Queen's speech rose to the forefront of her mind.

She could enter Idris because she had Nephilim blood in her body through her child. But she had not interrupted their Gard meeting to propose a deal. The entire thing was a set up.

Seelies were now pouring in through every entrance of the Gard. Pieces clicked in Clary's mind as Jace, Simon and Isabelle encircled her with their bodies as they edged towards an exit.

There were two seelies who had Nephilim blood in their veins; Helen and the Seelie Queen. One through biological inheritance and the other through conception. While the queen distracted the Gard with meaningless peace offers, Helen had lowered the wards completely to allow for this mass infiltration. Although, the queen's sudden labor was probably not part of the plan.

Clary was roughly snapped back to reality as Jace knocked her sideways, his seraph blade plunging into a seelie soldier's chest. A swarm of seelies seemed intent on advancing towards her as Simon and Isabelle brought up the rear in their awkward shuffle. She hacked off a seelie's arm, his spear clattering to the floor noisily as Jace delivered the death blow.

His face was lined with violence as each strike held the promise of murder. Clary was certain that his emotions were in sync with hers. She thirsted for the blood of these soldiers who sought for her child's death.

Clary was slightly bothered that she shared such an intense emotion of fierce protectiveness with the queen. The blurry conversation they'd had in the graveyard sent a lurch of discomfort through her bones, as she too realized that she would slaughter _anyone _who tried to kill her child. What made her any better than the queen?

The main doors of the Gard were in sight now as Isabelle's whip lashed out around the ankles of at least 6 soldiers and yanked them off their feet. Simon's sword finished off each of the fallen soldiers.

Escape was essential. Under normal circumstances, running would have been cowardly. But now, they were all driven by the same desire to protect this unborn child. Clary's arm pulled back as she sent a dagger cutting across the distance of the hall to hit its mark.

Jace was a machine as he fought off three soldiers at a time. It was mesmerizing to watch him move so gracefully. His blade knocked a spear down as his fist rose to crack against a soldier's face. His knee came up to drive into a seelie's chest, his seraph blade kissing the man's neck with such speed and agility that mundane eyes would have missed it.

The streets were coated in darkness, the only light coming from a faint glimmer of the moon. The clash of swords extended outside of the Gard and it became clear that this was not a mere attack. This was an invasion to overtake the city.

It seemed impossible to evade the line of seelies that were overrunning the streets. Even between the 4 of them, seelies were appearing at an unprecedented rate. Each seelie's intention was obvious as they tried to breach their circular formation. When a seelie did manage to penetrate their defense, they were greeted with the edge of Clary's waiting blade.

The dark shroud of the night was their only ally as they used it's cover to escape into a side street. Isabelle and Simon were flanking them as Jace and Clary raced down the alley. The physical exertion of the past hour was ten times worse than the hike up the hill.

She was wheezing for air as they ran, witch lights raised and ears trained for sounds of pursuers.

Jace snorted suddenly, and the three of them shot him an incredulous look.

"I told you we shouldn't have gone to the Gard." he muttered dryly to Clary.

Clary scoffed. "This was a planned ambush. The seelies would have found us eventually and we probably would've been sleeping targets."

"How do we know they're not waiting for us at Herondale manor?" Simon asked, tracing over his arm with a stele. It was still a strange sight to see him inked in runes and wielding a stele.

"We only moved into Herondale manor recently. My bet is they'll be after Lightwood manor first." Jace said darkly, his eyes darting around the alley. "We're not lingering. Just grab a few weapons and necessities and then we run."

"Where?" Isabelle said skeptically. "They're taking over Idris."

"Alec will know." Jace replied uneasily, as they turned the corner onto a quiet street leading up the slope to the older manors.

"You don't think Magnus and Alec will go to the Lightwood manor, do you?" she asked worriedly, her head craning to see the outline of the house in the distance.

Jace shook his head once. "Alec is smarter than that. I have a feeling he'll meet us soon."

Clary and Isabelle waited outside Herondale manor, in the thicket of towering trees as Jace and Simon did a quick sweep for hidden intruders. The house was apparently empty, so they filed in and began grabbing things at random.

Simon drew the curtains shut, waiting on guard by the door as the others began shoving clothes, food and weapons into bags. They kept the lights off as Clary fell onto the couch. Isabelle was raiding the kitchen and closet as Jace tore up the stairs to the weapons room.

Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest as she caught the steles Isabelle tossed her and packed them into several overflowing duffel bags. Simon was pacing with worry as he held a seraph blade in each hand, eyes occasionally flickering to the door. When the knock came, they all froze with alarm. Jace bounded down the stairs silently, as he nodded for Simon to open the door.  
"It's Alec and Magnus. I got their fire message upstairs." he said hurriedly, ducking down towards Clary. "I grabbed your letters. I figured… we might need them."

She nodded and kissed him quickly before shoving the letters into the side of a duffel. In the split second their eyes met, Clary was overwhelmed by the weight of their communication. Their son would be saved. And when all was said and done, and the war was either lost or won, his parents would be his last protectors.

"The seelies have altered the wards so no one can get in or out. There's no escape." Magnus said urgently, flicking his wrist so that the door locked behind them.

"Alec." Jace said quietly, his voice edged with desperation.

Alec looked once at him and instantly knew what he was asking. "The Clave has made the decision to evacuate all children, elderly and expecting mothers to Brocelind Forest - "  
"You can't be serious." Isabelle said dispassionately as she moved to sit beside Clary. "You want to hide in a forest? The territory most manipulable and powerful for the seelies?"

"It's one of the only areas they haven't reached yet and it's large enough to hold all our people." Alec replied tiredly. "We're coming with you." he said, turning his attention to Jace.

Jace nodded. "There's a good strategic advantage in the forest. And I'm sure Magnus can put up some wards to keep seelies out for a while."

"Is there no hope then?" Simon asked, speaking for the first time as he leaned against the window frame. "It's just flee or die?"

"There are many Shadowhunters still fighting the seelies in the city but they took us by surprise, it's not going that well." Alec said, running his hand over his stubble. "We need to go now. Magnus and I just barely managed to get here without being followed. But we're sure they've raided Lightwood manor by now."

"Max?" Isabelle gasped with terror.

"He's safe with the other children Iz. I made sure of it." Alec said, leading the way towards the back door.

Jace grasped Clary's hand and helped her up from the couch. He easily picked up two duffels, held a sword in one hand and wrapped his other arm securely around her.

* * *

This was the second worst feeling. Feeling trapped. It was infuriating to be imprisoned in their own city, where they would likely be killed. It would be degrading and somehow more tragic, to face defeat in their homeland. But Jace was positive that this was the Seelie Queen's intention.

Feeling trapped was only second worst to experiencing this crushing fear for his unborn child. A part of him saw the justice in the Seelie Queen's quest for vengeance. For months, the Shadowhunters had been craving for the assassination of the queen's child. This new vow to kill his son was just a poorly timed and cruel twist, fueled by her own pain and anger.

On the 3rd day, Jace felt trapped in a completely different way. Magnus had combined forces with all the warlocks in Alicante and they managed to form a strong ward around the forest. But now, they were stuck inside this protective prison. He knew it would not hold indefinitely. And when the ward broke, they would be cornered in the forest and escape would certainly be futile.

After 5 days of fighting, the seelies unleashed the poisonous gas they used in the Institutes and it wiped out hundreds of their soldiers.

On the 6th day, all the Shadowhunters retreated to Brocelind Forest. In Jace's book, retreating was only slightly less humiliating than surrendering entirely.

On the 75th day, Jace was going mad. Clary's due date was fast approaching and they were still enclosed in this damned forest. He both longed for and dreaded the birth of his son. The undeniable love and excitement of finally meeting his own child was blinding. But upon entering this world, how long would he have before leaving it? Jace shuddered at the horrible prospect of this future he would not allow his son to have.

With Christopher's life tied to Clary's, there was a terrifying and unspeakable thought, he refused to entertain for long. The thought of losing them both at once was too painful to bear, he immediately forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

He and Alec were supposed to be finishing their lap around the perimeter. So far, the seelies seemed content with having the city to themselves and hadn't bothered trying to follow the Shadowhunters into the woods. They carried themselves with such confidence, Jace itched to smack the haughty looks off their faces.

"Do you ever think about whether the newborn Seelie Prince is a child or a weapon?" Alec asked, ducking his tall frame below an overhanging branch.

Seelie Prince was the new nickname Shadowhunters had adopted for the child, after the Seelie Queen went into labor at the Gard. Along with demon child, abomination and devil spawn among other vile names.

"Child." Jace said immediately. "Now that I sort of understand what it means to be a parent, I can't imagine thinking of my own son as a weapon. Old Jace might have answered differently."

Alec frowned as they trudged down the moss covered path. "But your child will be Nephilim with even more angel's blood because you and Clary have more angel's blood. As much as we try to preserve the innocence of the Seelie Prince, we can't deny he's got seelie and Jonathan's demon blood."

Alec seemed to be considering him with curiosity as they made their way back towards the main camp. A curly haired boy with dark hair, sprinted past them, the most pure laughter coming from his lips as a blond girl chased after him with a wooden sword. Jace looked wistfully after them as he turned to look at his parabatai.

"Clary said it to me once, and I think I was too absorbed in the logical warrior perspective of it, I didn't truly appreciate her answer until now. I really believe that our character comes from the way we're raised. Even with angel blood in me and demon blood in Jonathan, we were raised completely differently from each other and the results were conclusive. If we can save the Seelie Prince, then I think we've got a fair chance at saving his soul from corruption."

Alec nodded his head almost subconsciously. "That Clary's a smart girl."

Jace laughed. "I promise not to tell her you admitted to that."

Alec snorted, as the main camp became visible between the trees. There was a low burning bonfire in the centre, with tents branching out all around it. Young Shadowhunter families were closest to the fire, while soldiers had tents closer to the outskirts - closer to danger.

Clary had argued they should be with the latter because of their training but Jace insisted they stay near the centre. Eventually, they'd compromised on a nice tent in the middle.

"Are you excited then?" Alec asked, poking his stomach playfully with his crossbow. Jace's eyes followed Alec's line of sight till they settled on Clary. She was sitting close to the fire, bundled in layers of sweaters as she accepted a bowl of broth from Isabelle who moved to perch beside her on the log bench.

"I'm nervous." Jace responded honestly. "He's safer inside Clary than he is out."

"He'll be fine." Alec assured him. "I can already see him strutting around the forest and mocking people for their mediocre fighting skills."

Jace barked out a surprised laugh and shook his head before turning serious. "You'll look out for him won't you?"

"Of course I will." Alec said indignantly. "You think we'd just let him starve?"

"No." Jace said, dropping down onto an empty log bench. "I mean you'll _really _look out for him? Make sure he doesn't grow up to be a dictator or evil conqueror? If Clary and I aren't here, you need to make sure he's a good person. And that he knows what love is."

Alec narrowed his eyes at Jace as he lowered himself beside him. "Planning on dying soon?"

Jace smirked. "You got me."

"You know I'll look after him as if he were my own kid." Alec amended, turning his gaze back to the fire.

"Good." Jace said, feeling much more comforted. "Because you'll need to fulfill your role as godfather with dignity."

Alec choked on his soup as his eyes bulged almost comically. Jace returned his startled expression teasingly. "I'm godfather?"

"Don't expect a formal 'thank you' card, we are in the middle of a war you know - "

But Alec cut him off abruptly by throwing an arm around his shoulders and clapping him hard on the back.

* * *

"And then, daddy jumped on the demon bad guy and drove his sword into its skull - "

"Maybe a less gruesome bedtime story?" Clary laughed, feeling the baby kick sharply on her side. Jace's head was bowed over her stomach, so his lips brushed against it when he spoke.

"No no no." Jace said offhandedly. "He's just practicing his roundhouse kick."

Jace rubbed the spot where the baby kicked gently before continuing his story. "And then, mommy came out of the shadows and threw her dagger at the other demon! It exploded in ichor and guts that splattered daddy on the face and so daddy had to hug mommy so they could both be covered in gore together - "

"And he ruined my favorite shirt." she added pointedly.

He laughed fondly at the memory, shooting her a brilliant smile before ducking around her to grab a battered copy of a Tale of Two Cities. "If Christopher doesn't love this book, I'm disowning him from the grave."

Clary's jaw clenched as he began flipping through the pages of the book till he reached the chapter he'd left off on the last time he'd read to the baby. "You always speak like a man waiting at the door for death."

"Aren't all men just sitting ducks waiting for death?" he said idly, licking his finger to turn the page.

"You know what I mean." she said, feeling her teeth grind together with frustration. "You don't know what's going to happen."  
Jace raised his head from the book and gave her a wary look. "Can we not fight about this again?"

"It's not a fight." Clary said defensively. "It's a heated conversation in which we disagree."

Jace sighed and propped himself up on his elbow. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I'd be stupid and naive to believe that there's not a high probability of one of us dying in the war. Angel forbid that happens, but if I do die, I've left a copy of my will in the dresser at Herondale manor. The house and all the Herondale inheritance belongs to you and Christopher. And if… that doesn't work out… I left it all to Isabelle and Simon. I figured they'd need a home when they break off from Magnus and Alec at Lightwood manor."

Clary could only gape at him as each word sunk in deeper. She resented the tears that pricked her eyes as she turned away with annoyance. "You didn't tell me you were writing a will."

"Clary, all Shadowhunters have a will by the time they're 16." Jace said lightly, draping an arm around her waist and resting his head beside her stomach. "Don't be upset."

She breathed out sharply. "I just don't understand how you can live like this. How you can live like you're going to die. That's not really living at all."

"I'm just preparing for the worst." Jace said softly, his hand tracing the skin of her stomach.

Clary huffed, trying to blink back the stupid hormones as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"It's just a precautionary detail. And it's not like a part of you doesn't feel the same way. That's what the letters are for aren't they?" he added, shocking her into silence. "To write down our story for him in case we aren't there to tell it?"

Sensing he'd more or less settled the debate, Jace flipped the book open again and began reading aloud.

Clary hated when he was right. But he wasn't completely right. He woke up each day with the weighted knowledge of knowing he may not come home. That was not any way to live. Too tired to argue further, she let herself be lulled to sleep by the soothing trills of his voice and the melodic writing of Dickens.

The weeks were inching by much faster now, making everyone in the camp on edge. It was most uncharacteristic for the seelies to not attack them. Perhaps they were relishing in their rule of the Shadowhunter city, or they were entertained with their enemies entrapped in their own land. But it'd been weeks of stony silence on the other side and _that _was cause for concern.

Jace's theory was so disturbing, he'd only shared it with Alec, Magnus, Isabelle and Simon. If Clary heard his real opinion on the seelies' strange behaviour, she'd surely go into labour.

The obvious smart and strategic move was for the seelies to break the wards and attack. But they had chosen not to. And that gave the distinct impression that they were waiting. And Jace was eerily and nauseatingly certain that they were waiting for his son to be born.

The only reasoning Jace could come up with was that the queen wanted his child's death at her hands. Because if their roles were reversed (although he could never imagine a world in which they were), then Jace would have waited for the child to be separated from the mother. The child was relatively safe and protected inside the womb. Outside, it would be much easier and cleaner to separate the child and mother.

There was little room for doubt with his dark and neat theory, Alec had begun organizing a more detailed plan of escape from the forest. Clary was to be kept blissfully unaware until the last moment, as they all agreed it was for the greater good of her and the baby. Not that she wouldn't beat them to pulp when she found out. Her pregnancy hormones did _not_ help with her temper.

With this in mind, Jace braced himself for her explosion. "So Clary…"

"Yeah." she said, leaning back on the small bed in their tent. She was cleaning out some of the stains on her daggers, using a weapons belt for a lower back pillow. Maybe it was smarter to wait to tell her when she wasn't handling deadly weapons…

He cleared his throat awkwardly, as he lingered by the doorway of the tent. "Alec and I were talking during our er, patrols, and we agreed it was time to act before the seelies do."

"What's the plan?" she asked, tossing several daggers with alarming accuracy into their holders across the room. Oh dear.

"Why don't you come with me to the meeting tonight? We're revising the details of the plan...for tomorrow." he finished, watching as her hands stilled over the daggers.

"Tomorrow." she repeated, her eyes narrowing in his direction.

"Mhm." he said as casually as he could manage. He cringed internally at his evasive tone.

"And when was this mastermind plan devised?" Clary pressed, looking accusingly at him.

She seemed to be taking it well? Better to push his luck with more casual responses. "It's been in the works for a while."

"Meaning?" she demanded, her voice rising at the end. Okay, maybe it would be better to skip the theatrics.

"Meaning we've been planning our escape for the past 10 days." he said, suddenly finding the stitching on the tent very fascinating.

"10 days." she said through grit teeth. Jace nodded uncomfortably, as he continued to follow the tent stitches with his eyes. "Well then we better go to this meeting before I fall asleep and you sneak off without me."

Jace winced at her iciness as he offered her a hand to help her up. She knocked it aside with her shoulder and stalked past him. Well that still went better than he'd anticipated. He should really be grateful he still had his limbs intact. When she got all riled up on hormones and emotions like this, it was better to let her ride it out. Jace knew this from experience.

He followed her out of the tent, a step behind her pace as she led the way to Alec and Magnus' tent. He had to give her credit for piecing together everything so quickly. If he thought she would appreciate the compliment right now, he would have said it out loud.

She was a red, fiery force to be reckoned with as she wrenched the tent flap open and marched in without so much as a glance behind her. Jace felt his lips twitch with amusement as he ducked in after her.

"_So_, what's the secret plan?" she said loudly, causing Alec to jump with alarm as she strode past him and fell onto the love seat.

"The - the plan?" Alec stuttered, clearly dumbfounded by her directness. Oh sweet Alec, he was not making this easier on any of them.

"Yes." Clary said curtly. "I was under the impression you came up with a plan behind my back?"

Alec had reeled in some of his composure so that a red blush graced his cheeks. He shuffled his stack of papers together stiffly and avoided her piercing gaze. "Right, the er...plan."

Clary looked around the room at Alec, Magnus, Simon, Isabelle, Aline and Jace with an expectant and irritated expression. "Well is someone going to tell me? Or do I have to pretend to sleep so you can all regain the ability to speak like I'm not here?"

"Biscuit, it's not like that." Magnus said gently, trying to sit on the love seat beside her but she wouldn't move over. "Jace why don't you explain?"

Jace gave Magnus a furious look while Clary was still fuming in her seat. Drat Magnus for making him the bad guy. The relieved faces of everyone else only aggravated him further.

"Well. It's not a complicated plan. Magnus, Simon and Aline are leading a team of Shadowhunters outside the forest. They're going to sneak into our demon towers and disable all the wards. This means anybody, reinforcements can get in but we can also get out. It's a risk for a reward." he explained, shifting his weight uneasily.

"And what are the rest of us going to do?" Clary finally said, her hand drifting to her stomach. His eyes unconsciously followed her hand.

"We're going to position the kids, older Shadowhunters, injured and expectant mothers by the edge of the forest. Once the wards are down, other warlocks here with us will make portals and we'll escape. Alec is going to lead another team to hold off the seelies before joining us. The portals are going back to a few select Institutes where we'll take refuge until we can get Alicante back."

"When do you leave?" she asked, turning her attention to Simon.

"We're leaving the forest around dawn but attacking the demon towers around dusk." Simon replied, his eyes boring into Clary like they were sharing some private argument. Jace's eyes were still trained on the hand over her stomach when she spoke again.

"It's a good plan." Clary said calmly, before turning her steely gaze to him. "Next time, make sure I'm in on it."

Jace nodded minutely, wondering if there would be a next time.

* * *

Braxton hicks were a real bitch.

Clary ground her teeth together as she swatted a tree branch out of her way. The forest was not the ideal place to be while 9 months pregnant. Magnus, Simon and Aline had left from their little campsite hours ago and the others were already packed. All that was left, was the bloody hike to the edge of the forest.

Magnus had warned them they would see spirals of smoke rising from the demon towers when the wards were lowered. That's when the other warlocks would make the portals for escape.

Her lower back was screaming with agony as she scowled at the rocky incline. Jace had offered multiple times to help her up but she was stubbornly set on doing it herself. As irrational as it was, she blamed him for the wicked back pains that kick started yesterday, after hearing their stupid plan.

She hissed as her pelvis protested against her movements up the forest. Isabelle gave her a furtive glance before quickly looking ahead again. Sympathy from the accompanying Shadowhunters was irritating. Nothing they could say and no amount of pitying stares could make her feel better.

"Did you at least get some sleep in last night?" Isabelle asked, almost timidly as she cut away at some overhanging leaves to clear the path.

Clary gave her a dirty look as she swallowed her gasp. Her lower abdomen was not appreciating this nature walk. "I dozed in and out of sleep. My back's been killing me."

"We're almost there." Isabelle stated reassuringly, searching through the trees for the first signs of the mountain background. "It'll be dusk in a few hours."

Before she could respond, it was as if a fist with claws shoved up the inside of her vagina and squeezed. Clary cried out and threw her hand out to grip the length of a branch. Nausea hit her like a tidal wave, intensifying the dull ache in her pelvis and back.

"Clary?" Isabelle said anxiously, as she reached out an arm to touch her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

This could not be happening. Not right _now_. Out of all the days, of all the hours they'd spent whiling away in the campsite, it had to be today?

When her mind became more coherent, she traced back the last 10 hours. From the time she'd entered Magnus and Alec's tent, her back had begun a new kind of throbbing. Overnight the aching was a dull throb at the back of her mind, becoming increasingly strong during the hike. She'd dismissed it as a side effect of the demanding climb but now, it was evident that she was wrong.

"The baby…" Clary breathed, trying to blink away the nausea. "Is coming."

She didn't look up to know Isabelle's eyes widened as her whip hung limply at her side. She only gaped at Clary for less than a minute before shouting something loud and urgent. Clary had shut her eyes and leaned back against the tree, breathing deeply as sweat trickled down her spine.

This was the absolute worst moment to go into labor, the worst most inappropriate time to be in this position. And yet, some cackling fate up there was not the accommodating type.

"Well what do we do?" Jace's voice rang out in her ears, with clear panic and distress. What was he freaking out about? Was he going to be pushing a mini cantaloupe out of his vagina in the middle of a grand escape?

"We can't travel with her through the portal." Alec said, sounding equally as anxious. "What if she has a contraction in the middle of it and winds up thinking of somewhere else and gets separated? We're going to have to set up a tent - Isabelle - do you think you can deliver it?"

"We can't do it now!" Isabelle cried out in alarm. "As soon as the wards are down, the seelies will be onto us! We need to get Clary out of here."

Clary drowned out the rest of their bickering, breaking off a piece of bark and clenching it in her fist as she sucked in large gulps of air. She threw her weapons belt and swords to the floor with a sudden, desperate need to get their weight off of her. The world was going to pieces and this was the moment she had to go into labor?

"Clary, can you hear me?" Jace asked in a low voice. Clary opened her eyes, her fist tightening on the piece of bark hard enough to draw blood. In between her swimming head and pounding back, everything seemed to be viewed through a dirty filter.

"I'm in labor, I'm not deaf." she panted, giving him a wry look. He smiled weakly, as his hands reached down for hers and pulled the bloody bark out of her grasp. She let him.

"Alec is setting up the tent. It's not safe to travel like this." he said gently, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're almost at the edge of the forest. The warlocks are going to hold the portal so we can go through as soon as the baby is born."

A new wave of panic rose in her chest as she grasped his hand tightly. "What if I'm still in labor when the seelies come through the forest?"

His face became hard as he looked at her intensely. "We'll figure it out. There's still a few more hours till dusk."

Something in his face was wrong. It was prepared and unsurprised. "Did you figure something like this would happen?" she whispered, her voice rising with hysteria. And then she was seized with another painful contraction that stabbed each nerve in her body, moaning slightly, she leaned into Jace.

Waiting until after the contraction passed, Jace spoke again. "I didn't know _this _would happen." he said with dry humor.

"But you suspected something like this?" she prodded, gripping his shirt in her fists.

"Not exactly." he said, looking upset at her question. He paused for a few seconds, appearing to be collecting his thoughts into words. "I suspected the seelies would jump at the chance to attack once the baby was born."

Clary stared blankly at him, trying to register his words. Wait for the baby to be born? Then, realization sunk in like a terrible cold, and she looked miserably up at him. He returned her fearful look with such sadness and determination in his eyes, Clary's body ached in another kind of way.

It was not a pleasant experience, as Jace and Isabelle guided her into the tent where there was a lone examination table set up. Jace helped her up onto it as Isabelle began draping blankets and tugging off clothes. Isabelle met Clary's eyes over her knees and they shared a brief nod before she ducked down behind the blanket.

Clary groaned into her arm as she reached behind her to crush the pillow in her hand. The air was muggy and hot, making her even more uncomfortable in the confines of the tent as periodic spasms of pain rippled throughout her body.

"I think you're about 4 cm dilated." Isabelle said slowly, her dark head becoming visible again.

"You think?" Jace asked with a hard voice, bouncing his seraph blade between his hands.

"I'm not a trained medic Jace." Isabelle snapped, lowering her voice when she saw Clary's labored breathing. "Helen - "

Jace must have made a disgusted or poignant face because Isabelle quickly backtracked.

"I just meant she was much better trained in human health. I have only a little more knowledge than you, Jace." she said, pulling off her gloves. "It'll probably be a few more hours before the baby's born."

Clary looked frantically at Jace, grappling for his hand as her eyes darted to Isabelle. "It'll be dusk in a few hours." she half whispered, trying not to show the despair she was feeling on the inside.

A terrible vision of Isabelle holding up a blond little baby flashed in her mind, before seelie guards stormed into the tent and snatched the child. Jace and Clary slain before they could even scream or react.

"It'll be fine." Jace insisted, giving her and Isabelle firm looks. "Check on the warlocks please Iz? We need to be ready to leave as soon as Christopher is out."

In between mind debilitating contractions, Clary had come to a conclusion. In this moment, when the birth of her son was threatened by the greedy hands of death, sacrifices would have to be made.

There was no acceptable outcome of this night, in which Christopher would die so soon after finding life. Clary would not allow it. If all else failed, she would make sure her son had a life. With this wrought, iron set determination rooted in her mind, Clary waited for the last few hours to pass by.

One young warlock had been willing to come into the tent and have a portal ready for them to escape at the last moment. Isabelle kept to herself, lost in her own thoughts, only speaking to announce the dilation or time.

Jace was completely consumed in his own head, pacing around the tent with a mad fury as he flexed and unflexed his blade, pausing every now and then when he thought he heard movement outside.

There was something unsettling about laying on the table in anticipation. Her body was making it very clear, it was anticipating a birth with each contraction and excruciating hour. Her instincts were anticipating an attack, with each gust of wind or twig snap.

20 minutes ago, Alec had barged in, flushed with exertion as he babbled a bunch of nonsense, Clary could only make sense of after a contraction momentarily faded away. _The wards were down. _

Now, Clary was gripping the sheets in one hand, crushing Jace's hand in the other as her head fell back with a dreadful scream. Isabelle was murmuring encouragement and meaningless information that did nothing to ease her pain.

Her throat was raw, as she fell back against the table, relishing in the coolness of it against her burning body.

"Okay Clary, give me another push." Isabelle called, from behind her curtain of gauze.

Clary was shaking her head weakly, the ugliest tears tracking down her worn face. "Don't make me." she moaned.

"Come on Clary, a few more and your baby boy will be here." Isabelle said, peeking up to give her a warm smile that was laced with worry.

Jace's rough hand came up to wipe her face, resting lightly on her head as she bit the inside of her cheek and channeled every ounce of her energy and will into her exhausted body.

A string of filthy words came tumbling out of her mouth in a violent scream and still, Isabelle told her they were almost there. _Almost?!_

Her head was lolling tiredly to the side, her eyes resting on Jace's face. He suddenly stilled in her grasp, the planes of his shoulders tensing in a familiar way that sent shockwaves of fear throughout her body. And then, amidst the pain and fatigue, she heard it too.

The sound of advancement. Footsteps thundering against the forest floor, not even bothering to mask their presence because they had the comfort of knowing they were in charge. Undefeatable.

There was a flurry of movement and grunts from outside and Clary knew the few Shadowhunters stationed outside were facing the onslaught coming for her son.

"One more Clary." Isabelle called urgently, her eyes flickering to the tent entrance nervously. Jace's sword was held aloft, his other hand still holding onto hers as he looked torn between the tent and her. Sounds of tormented cries and swords glancing off each other reverberated around the room as Clary arched her head back and gave a final, draining push.

Her scream overpowered the shouts and clashes outside, her insides writhing with the overwhelming physical and emotional pressure of it all. She fell back against the cool metal table with a resounding thud, as the pain subsided. A new voice joined the fray. The sweetest, more pure cry pierced the dank air and Clary somehow found the strength to open her tired eyes again.

Jace's sword hung by his side, his eyes mesmerized by the child. Clary pulled herself to a half sitting position as Isabelle's tear stained face reappeared with her child in her arms.

Isabelle gave a strange hiccough as she swaddled the baby and placed him carefully in Jace's arms.

In all the years she'd known him, she'd thought that his arms were perfectly made for love and protection. Strong, sturdy arms both capable of fighting and loving. And now, she could only see the potential for love. His careful and trembling arms brought the baby closer to her. Jace's face was stricken with awe and admiration as he lowered the child into her arms.

And it felt like home.

Seconds were all she had to soak in her son's face. Not enough time to fully appreciate its marvelous beauty but enough to make things clear to Clary.

The footsteps were right outside the tent, the flap tearing open as Clary secured the child in Jace's arms and wrenched herself off the table. She yanked on a pair of training pants as a figure slumped against the tent flap, his blood spattered on the walls outside. The warlock had the portal open, Isabelle darted in first and Clary pushed Jace and her son in after her.

The tent was in shreds as Clary's dagger flung out to hit its mark with a terrible squelch.

The warlock gave a startled cry as Clary shoved him in last and the portal disappeared from sight.

She turned around slowly and found herself surrounded.

Author's Note

CRAZY chapter !

Hope everyone's staying safe. Hope the pregnancy/labor part was realistic enough, did my best to write it without experience

WHAT DO WE THINK?


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Family Reunion

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. 'Children need playmates who lift them up high.' "_

_Clary's voice came out strangled as she glanced nervously up at Alec. "The Seelie Queen wants playmates for her child."_

"_You can think of me what you will." the Seelie Queen continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."_

_Nostrils flaring, the queen's hand caressed her stomach as her lips pulled back in a scowl. "On multiple accounts, the Nephilim have sought the destruction of my child. It seems only fair that I have the same pleasure of returning the favor. Child for child."_

_In between mind debilitating contractions, Clary had come to a conclusion. In this moment, when the birth of her son was threatened by the greedy hands of death, sacrifices would have to be made. _

_The footsteps were right outside the tent, the flap tearing open as Clary secured the child in Jace's arms and wrenched herself off the table. She yanked on a pair of training pants as a figure slumped against the tent flap, his blood spattered on the walls outside. The warlock had the portal open, Isabelle darted in first and Clary pushed Jace and her son in after her. _

_The warlock gave a startled cry as Clary shoved him in last and the portal disappeared from sight._

* * *

Love at first sight is a fantasy for the desperate and lonely. There's only infatuation and lust. Love, if ever, comes later. Or never.

At least that's how it's supposed to be.

Then how was it possible, for Jace to feel such an overwhelming and instantaneous love for this small boy, cradled in his arms? Either he was desperate and lonely or _this _was the part of being a parent nobody ever explained properly. To love so selflessly and immediately.

Was it normal to feel this much emotion at once? It had been mere minutes since Clary had been giving birth in a tent, with the imminent threat of invasion slinking closer in the woods. Soldiers were falling outside the tent, Clary was screaming, Jace was crying out internally and then in a rush of emotions, everything in the world was right.

The moment Isabelle handed Jace his son, for the smallest fraction of a second, the war was meaningless, the ominous attackers outside were background noise and all he could see was his angelic child. Clary had always told him that he looked like an avenging angel. Dangerous and beautiful. This child was another kind of angel. An angel of salvation.

Jace had been right before. This child would save them both in every way humanly possible.

"Thank God you're alright." Alec called with relief as he pushed his way through the crowded Institute to reach his siblings.

"More than alright." Jace murmured, still entranced by his son's beautiful face.

"Well I'll be damned, we have another Herondale here to cause trouble." Alec said faintly, stopping beside Jace and peering down at his godson with the strangest look of admiration and smugness. "It's a miracle you all made it out."

"About 6 soldiers of our own were killed outside the tent." Isabelle sniffled, her eyes also glued to the miraculous child. "Miracle is not an adequate word."

"He's got Clary's eyes." Jace whispered with a smile, as he reluctantly pulled his gaze away from his son and searched for her.

They appeared to be in the Paris Institute. It was filled with Shadowhunters that were receiving treatment on the examination tables lined along the walls or gorging on food that was presented on a long table in the center. All the Shadowhunters trapped in Idris had escaped through portals to one of the institutes they'd won back.

"Where's Clary?" Jace asked sharply, his eyes roving over the crowds again and coming up unsuccessful. His wife was nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?"

Isabelle and Alec turned to survey the crowds of Shadowhunters, but there was no recognizable redhead in sight.

"Don't panic, there's a lot of people here. She's probably being examined or grabbing food." Isabelle said hurriedly, not looking comforted by her own words.

"Clary would not be interested in eating right now." Jace said coldly, trying not to jostle his son as he craned his neck to sift through the crowds. Hysteria was clawing up the insides of his throat in an awfully familiar way. The same way it had when Clary was nowhere to be found at Alec's wedding. "Something's wrong."

Alec was calling someone over, but Jace wasn't interested. He spotted the warlock present during the labor, sitting on an examination table at the back of the ops center.

Adjusting his arms to shield Christopher from contact with others, Jace shouldered his way through the hoards of people, receiving several rude comments along the way. He couldn't even be bothered to give a retort as he seized the tiny warlock by the front of his robes.

The warlock yelped with surprise as his eyes darted between Jace and his son.

"Where's Clary?" Jace demanded, giving the tiny man a little shake when he blinked fearfully at him. "_Where is Clary?"_

"She's not here." the warlock stammered, his eyes flickering to Isabelle and Alec who had caught up to Jace. He slammed the man against the wall hard enough to hear an unpleasant crunch.

"I gathered that much! Where is she?" he growled, feeling slightly guilty as Christopher began to cry. The warlock looked at Jace the same way Clave Shadowhunters looked when they knocked on the door with unfortunate news. _Impossible_.

"She didn't come through the portal. Seelies entered the tent after you left and she pushed me in last." the warlock said desperately. He had the nerve to look teary eyed.

Isabelle had managed to pry the child out of Jace's arms. Fine. He needed two hands to strangle the man anyways.

"Jace NO!" Alec shouted, grabbing at his arms. But Jace had already lunged at the poor warlock who had backed away to the far edge of the table.

"YOU LEFT MY WIFE BEHIND?" Jace roared, seeing nothing but red as he was bulldozed by Alec's massive form. His ridiculously long arms were restraining Jace as he thrashed and snarled with such an unparalleled fury, his rage could have burned the world to ashes.

"She pushed me in!" the warlock said placatingly, his frail chest rising and falling with fear as Jace tried to wrench himself out of Alec's hold.

"Alec if you know what's good for you, you'll let me go!" Jace threatened, his hands twitching for his sword.

Alec's grip only tightened around his shoulders. "It's not his fault Jace. Look, we're going to get Clary back - "

Jace managed to twist one arm free and yanked the warlock's ankle, pulling him within striking range. His fist swung out in an arc and made a satisfying crunch against the man's jaw. People were shouting at Jace, but he didn't care. He felt a sudden bloodthirsty desire to punch every single face in the room, with the exception of Christopher. None of them understood.

None of them were capable of understanding the physical _pain _he was in. _Clary was with the Seelie Queen. _Nobody here was registering that!

"Jace!" Isabelle snapped, darting to stand between him and the warlock, Christopher still cradled in her arms. "If you want to keep punching him, I'll help you. I owe him a couple of good knocks myself. But you need to think about Christopher now. You need to be there for him."

Chest heaving, eyes burning with unshed tears, Alec released Jace's arms and Isabelle handed him his baby.

Jace focused on Christopher's tiny face but it was Clary's piercing green eyes that stared back.

* * *

Clary was afraid to open her eyes.

From the moment the lone seelie slashed his way into the tent, everything had been a blur. The warlock yelping as Clary shoved him in, the portal closing and then finding herself surrounded by seelie soldiers.

Though she would never admit it, the pleased and hungry look in their eyes as they registered who she was had sent chills down her spine. It didn't take long for them to capture her. She doubted even Jace, as skilled as he was, could have escaped the tent alive.

She was however, comforted that she managed to kill 4, disarm 2 and leave another one handless. Then her sword was gone along with the rest of the world.

Now, she tried to keep her breathing steady so as not to alert anyone to her returning coherency. Clary used her senses to devise a rough estimate of the situation she was in. She could hear sets of heavy footsteps pacing somewhere to her right. She couldn't decipher any other movement close to her. Was she lucky enough to be alone?  
She could smell a pungent and thick layer of perfumed flowers with another familiar scent, similar to iron.

Her body didn't appear to be injured, aside from the mild throbbing in her temple from where they likely knocked her out. She could feel the cool metal table pressing against the small nape of her back. So she was laying down horizontally?

A different, more intense kind of pain was suffocating her on the inside. Somewhere, hopefully far away from here, was her son. Seconds were all she had had with Christopher. The trade between seconds or a lifetime was simple. By closing the portal to cut off the line to seelie pursuers, she had traded a few precious seconds with her son so that he could have a life.

Seconds versus a lifetime. Was there even a choice? And Jace. He would understand. He probably wouldn't ever forgive her but there was another factor in their relationship now that trumped everything else. He would know. He would grieve. Probably even cause a ruckus for the others. But eventually, he would reach the same conclusion she did. Christopher's life was worth exponentially more than their own.

Without opening her eyes, Clary moved her pinky a fraction and found it restrained. Her wrists were bound tightly together with a thick material, probably vines. There was no use in searching for a stele or weapon on her.

Now the question of the hour was why she was still breathing. It was needless to expend any anxiety or anger over it. She knew the answer. Something much _worse _than death was waiting for her. And she would need to use her last sense to find out what that was.

Clary opened her eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sleep like the dead?" a voice trilled from across the room.

Slowly, as if reacting to a wild and unpredictable animal, Clary sat up and turned to address her captor. Pain radiated from her sore limbs as she moved but she made sure to hide that from her face.

Lo and behold, the Seelie Queen was lounging on a plant woven rocking chair. A small child slept soundly in her arms. The queen looked serenely at Clary, a curious expression flitting across her face.

"I apologize about the wrist bindings. You have a track record of being reckless." the queen said almost fondly. This was certainly a tone, she'd never received from the queen before.

Clary decided it was best to cut to the chase. "Why have you kept me alive?"

The Seelie Queen's lips twitched like she wanted to laugh and she shook her head tiredly. "I will not kill you for now. Out of respect for Jonathan and my son."

Clary didn't bother trying to hide her reaction. She scoffed and hopped off the table, landing agilely on the floor. The instant the balls of her feet touched the floor, it felt like wrecking balls slamming up her muscles.

"You should rest." the Seelie Queen said airily. "Childbirth is not kind to the body."

"Yes, because you would know." Clary said coldly, tensing her wrists against the bindings.

The queen cocked her head to the side. "Yes. I would know."  
It was like the moment they'd been sizing each other up for had arrived. Clary returned the queen's steely stare from across the room, challenging her to say it first.

And the indescribable rage and frenzied protectiveness of a mother burned inside Clary, overtaking all reason and civility. She was sure that it was equal if not more tempered in the queen.

"Perhaps, you are the only person in the world who can even begin to understand how I feel. We are both mothers now. We have a higher love in our life now that diminishes the value of any war or grudge or even enemy. We are nothing alike you and I." Clary said smoothly. Everything she was saying was despairingly true. "We will never see eye to eye on any political or moral issue. But _this _is the one thing we can agree on."

"And what would that be?" the queen drawled dismissively. But her clouded eyes countered her calm facade.

"Neither of us will surrender in the fight for our child." Clary replied, the words carrying such a heavy and deep weight that went miles beyond their literal meaning.

When the queen remained silent Clary continued. "This is a mutually assured destruction situation. Both our children are in danger and only we have the power to stop that."

Clary couldn't breathe as she waited for the queen to say something. Surely she understood the enormity of what Clary was asking. How could they keep fighting a pointless war when there were other, more significant lives involved? Were they selfish enough to put the lives of their children at risk? Too stubborn and prejudiced to reverse the terrible fate of their children?

Then the Seelie Queen laughed. Cold as ice and sharp as knives. "Do you really believe the Clave will ever stop the manhunt for my child? Do you think they'll ever let _my_ son live? If you're foolish enough to believe that, then you've already lost."

"It doesn't have to be that way." Clary protested.

"There is no other way." the queen snapped. "You are too young to understand the pride and reverence the Clave has for the law. They are fixed and immovable in their perspective of my child. It's like a horse with blinders. All they can see and accept is the potential for danger and that is enough to warrant death."

"If we can renegotiate our terms, we can go our separate ways and both our children can live in safety - "

"How many times have I expressed to you about the cruelty and harshness of the Clave?" the queen interrupted, her eyes searing into Clary's. "Was the desire and satisfaction in your father and brother's deaths not enough evidence?"

"How does any of that matter now? How can you gamble so carelessly with your son's life?" Clary said loudly, trying to bite back her temper.

Without jostling her son, the Seelie Queen stood up and glided towards her. She stopped a few feet away from her, close enough for Clary to see the small and beautiful face of the child.

"Everything I've done has been for the sake of my son." the queen said softly. "You'd be naive and blind to think the Clave would ever value the life of my child."

She'd been grinding her wrists so tightly, the grated skin against the vines had drawn blood. It was soothing to have some new and fresh physical pain to distract her from the internal agony.

"Come." the queen breathed, her eyes wide with earnest. "Meet your nephew. Damon Jonathan Morgenstern."

Whether out of morbid curiosity or genuine interest, Clary found herself closing the distance between them. For the first time, she _really _looked at the face of the child… her nephew. His beauty was indisputable. Skin that seemed as smooth as butter, cheeks as rosy as his mother, his nose arched the same as his father, his lips pursed in a frown like the queen and then he opened his eyes. Green and vibrant. Like her brother. Like her.

"Jonathan would have adored him." the queen said, her voice tinged with loss and a kind of sadness that widows carried. "Then he wouldn't have been obsessed with making a family with you and Jace. He would have found peace with us. He _should_ have found peace with us."

"And yet you tore apart my family." Clary murmured, still drinking in the sight of her nephew. A bothersome and regretful fragment of a long forgotten dream, rising to the forefront of her mind.

In another world, Jonathan could have had everything. This child could have had everything.

"No." the queen disagreed. "I reunited our family."

At Clary's confused expression, the queen turned to face the east wall of the room. She followed her gaze and her blood ran cold. Pale and lifeless, Fairchild green eyes staring empty at the ceiling, Jonathan's corpse lay on a raised marble altar.

"Is that - ?"

"Yes." the queen said admiringly. "I found his body and brought him home. Now, our family is reunited. Father, mother, son and aunt."

* * *

"At this rate, you'll die of starvation rather than my own hand." the Seelie Queen said dryly.

She watched with amusement as Clarissa sat resolutely in her chair, her bound wrists bleeding and angry red on the table. What a strange creature.

So stubborn and determined to prove a point. Although, perhaps in their history, she was wise not to accept any food in her court.

"Suit yourself." the queen shrugged. She plopped a sugar plum in her mouth and chewed slowly, considering the wild redhead opposite her.

Such a strange creature. She wondered what potential for family Jonathan ever saw in her. She definitely had potential for fury, fighting and nobility. And sure, there was undoubtedly potential for selflessness and irrational, mundane love. Besides all of that, she was just an ordinary child who believed her way was the high and mighty way.

But there was something else. And perhaps, this closer, more intimate time together had made Amara see that. Clarissa was a sincerely _kind _person. The kind of person that was instantaneously likeable. Easy to befriend. Loyal and unwaveringly, so. The kind of person that made for a good friend. A good sister.

Damn Jonathan for having a _nice _sister. How was Amara supposed to kill her now?

"I fought for him you know." she said suddenly.

Her face was so intent, so honest. Her eyes were sincere as they stared at Amara from across the table. Such a funny little thing. She wanted the queen to _trust _her. It was endearing.

"And yet here we are." Amara quipped lightly, sipping her red herb wine. Sweet with a splash of blood. Just the way she liked it.

Clarissa's brows creased endearingly as her fists clenched and a trickle of blood trailed down her wrists and onto the white table cloth. "I did. I fought to save him. He's an innocent child that's been thrown into a game of politics he didn't ask for."

Amara had always been good at reading the truth in people's words. It bothered her that she found no hint of deceit in Clarissa's. It was becoming harder and harder to dislike this extremely likeable girl.

"Let me guess." she said slowly, raising her handkerchief to dab the corner of her lips. Clarissa's wretchedly observant eyes followed the movement. Amara smirked internally. Mortals were always so focused on the irrelevant details, giving her time to phrase her lies as truths. Although this one didn't require much careful wording. "You bargained my life to save his."

Clarissa's face was unreadable but Amara could see the flash of surprise in her eyes before she resumed her stony stare. She almost laughed out loud at her childish mannerisms.

"The point is." she started, clearly trying to remain calm. "I've always been on… Damon's side. From mother to mother, you can understand my desperation to protect my son. You've been preaching about the cruelty of the Clave and their inability to look beyond prejudices. I think it's rather hypocritical and biased of _you, _to seek the death of my son."

Amara's jaw clenched as she regarded the woman across from her. Her eyebrow was arched slightly, as if waiting for Amara to devise some clever explanation. Her eyes looked hard but there was an air of real confusion and frustration.

"You never did tell me the name of _my _nephew." Amara responded, watching as Clarissa blinked with shock. This was the reaction she'd been hoping for. Sidetracked conversations were key to avoiding an answer or garnering time to fabricate a lie as a truth.

"I never knew you considered him your nephew." Clarissa said stiffly, her teeth grinding as she glared with accusation and suspicion.

"You did not answer my question." Amara pressed, still hoping to dodge this mortal's intrusively deep questions.

Clarissa seemed to mentally debate the risks of telling the oh so evil queen before sighing. "Christopher Herondale."

This managed to catch Amara by surprise. " 'Bearer of Christ'. It was also Jonathan's middle name."

Another blink of surprise from the strange creature. "You knew that?"

A surge of irritation and hurt flickered across Amara's features. "Jonathan and I were closer than you think. We were not just lovers."

Leaving the insufferable child to this realization, Amara was overwhelmed by the sudden flood of emotions that recurred each time their relationship was brought up.

Nobody ever understood. And that never mattered to Amara. She and Jonathan had had a love much more powerful and explosive than anything mortals could even hope to experience. Such a consuming and otherworldly emotion that could not be expressed properly in mere mundane terms like 'love' or 'marriage'.

They hadn't bothered to explain the details and complexity of their relationship to people who would only have responded with hatred, doubt and scorn. They knew what their feelings meant, and that had been enough for her.

Never in her thousands of years, had she ever been so _seen _and appreciated like she had with Jonathan. Each lover she'd distracted herself with had never captivated her attention or swept her off her feet. Each lover had been easy to betray if her desire for acquisition or power was stronger. But not with Jonathan.

Out of everyone that had ever existed in the universe, perhaps, only Jonathan and Amara had beared the knowledge of being hated and unwanted all their lives. And in the short time they'd known each other, they had found a new and foreign emotion that was nameless to the mortals.

Now, looking at the woman sitting opposite her, Amara was painfully reminded that _she _was the reason Jonathan was gone. The reason that Amara was alone every night. The reason that Damon would grow up without a father. The reason that Amara would be mourning in eternal misery.

And all the reasons she'd searched for to hate this easily likeable girl returned.

"Do you want to know why I want to kill your son?" Amara said venomously, rising to her feet as she abandoned all attempts at pretenses. "To protect my son!"

Clarissa looked bewildered as she looked at Amara with disbelief. "That's absurd."

Amara's nostrils flared as she just barely refrained from pulling the girl by the hair to Jonathan's grave and showing her _exactly _what she meant. How could mortals be so plain stupid? Must everything be spelled out for them?

"Your son is the product of two Nephilim who are both gifted with more angel blood. My son is a unique hybrid of his own. Part faerie and part Nephilim with the gift of demon blood. When Damon takes the throne, the only person who remotely stands a chance to defeat him is Christopher." Amara seethed, her veins boiling with maddening rage.

It was dreadfully annoying to wait as mortals processed her responses. This girl seemed to require double the time most mortals did. For someone who sang like a canary about the woes and passions of love, you'd think she'd have more sympathy for the queen!

A heart broken and devastated widow who's also been sentenced to be a single mother. Damon was her last love, her last connection to Jonathan and she'd be damned if she let him die.

Finally, Clarissa began to stutter incomprehensibly, still overwhelmed by the information. All the saints in heaven and all the demons in hell, why was Amara stuck with a dolt?

"That is the most twisted and insane concept I've ever heard." she managed to spit out. She rose to her feet across the table from her and they glowered at each other, neither willing to rescind.

"You have taken _everything _from me!" Amara seethed.

She could feel the roots below her feet quake as her temper was threatening to seize control.

"Your people are trying to steal my throne! You have robbed my child of a father! Your people are craving for the death of my child's mother! But above all, the most inhumane, barbaric and savage of them all!" Amara ranted with such pent up frustration, unequal to anything in the universe, she thought lightning bolts would begin to rain down. "Your people are going to strip me of my son! There are a thousand things that obstruct my son's path, a thousand odds have been stacked up against him from day one and I will not let _your _son be one of them."

* * *

Whoever was dealing the cards for grief and anguish must have something against Jace.

Because everything in life was constantly a challenge. Who would have thought, even in the middle of a war, things could get dramatically worse.

"No." Jace grumbled in response to Alec's next suggestion. "No it won't work!" he snapped, interrupting him successfully.

"Jace." Isabelle said placatingly.

This only aggravated Jace further. The warlock was safely separated from Jace, Magnus was _always baking something for him_, Simon was the king of stupid jokes that never made _anyone _feel better, Isabelle was constantly giving him pitying looks and Alec was failing to come up with a solid plan. He was going to go insane.

Only Christopher hadn't pissed him off. Strangely good at sleeping through the night, Christopher was the most perfect child Jace had ever laid eyes on. He'd always thought babies were a mixture between poop machines and wailing sirens. Christopher was all of the above. But much more adorable.

"No Isabelle, don't 'Jace' me." he said angrily, rising to his feet. Why didn't any of them understand? Every minute they spent pondering ridiculous ideas to save Clary, was another minute she suffered, another minute their family was separated.

"We're all doing the best we can. We all want to save her." Simon said, speaking for the first time that evening. Jace wanted to deck him.

"Sure sure, now that you're a Shadowhunter and hopelessly in love with Isabelle, all's well in Simonville so Clary can just chill a little while longer in the Seelie court right?" Jace retorted, ignoring Alec's exasperated sign.

Simon looked as if he'd been slapped. Darn moron, Jace wanted to make it _really _look like he'd been slapped. "You know I want Clary back as much as you do."

"Yeah?" Jace asked scathingly. "But you don't need her anymore now that you've got your own perfect little life going on, like we can't all hear the two of _you _being all cheery and pleasant while you bang the night away in your room - "

"Jace!" Alec warned at the same time Simon shouted.

"Stop acting like you're the only one upset here! While you've been holed up in your room, sulking with Christopher, _we've _been trying to form a rescue plan to get her back - "

"Yeah and how's that going?" Jace yelled, knocking his chair back as he shot up from his seat. "Because I don't see her here!"

Isabelle who was sitting in between them, fisted the material of their shirts and wrenched them back into their seats.

"You are the biggest pair of selfish prats." she said coldly. "Way to make Clary's kidnapping all about you."

Jace pulled himself out of her hold and stalked towards the door. "If the Clave can't come up with a legitimate plan to save her by tomorrow morning, I'm going in myself to get her and there's nothing you can say to stop me."

The door opened abruptly as he reached for the handle and Aline tumbled in looking breathless as she gripped the door knob tightly.

"What's wrong?" Alec asked immediately, shouldering Jace out of the way.

Clutching a stitch in her side, Aline righted herself and turned to look at Jace sadly.

"No - " he whispered, shaking his head with resolute disbelief.

"No no no!" she said in between labored breaths. Jace looked up at the worn wooden ceiling with both relief and dismay. Should he be hoping she _was _dead?

"We just received a message from the Seelie Queen." Aline said, causing Jace's head to snap back to her. Aline seemed to hesitate, trying to find the right words .

"Just say it!" Jace exclaimed as he watched her at a loss for words before appearing to settle on bluntness. Aw hell this would hurt.

"She wants to trade Clary for Christopher." Aline said almost apologetically.

Jace wheeled on his heel and punched the wall, splintering part of it into a million shards.

* * *

Clary had never met Stephen or Celine Herondale. Jace's father was supposedly best friends with her father. Both ambitious and righteous in their own way. Both dead as a result of their quest for the greater good.

But she hadn't thought much about Celine besides her suicide. Clary was probably not qualified to judge or even attempt to understand her decision. She may have even harbored a little anger towards her for doing it while she was pregnant with Jace. Didn't she realize her life was tied to his?

Without knowing what was going on in Celine's life, Clary could not pass judgement. However, she did know what was going on with her own life. She never imagined herself doing this. It was in her nature to fight, surrendering was never an option.

The reality was, she was never going to make it out of here alive. And as long as she was here, she was leverage for the queen, another pawn in her game. Despite the queen's promises not to kill her out of respect for Jonathan and her son, she'd be kidding herself if she didn't think she wasn't going to be eventually tortured.

She had a wealth of knowledge about the inner workings of the Clave, their plans and strategy. Not to mention the horrible and manipulative things the Seelie Queen could do with her as a means to humiliate the Nephilim, bargain with them or control Jace. And she couldn't let her have that power.

Even more than that, she knew where Jace had taken Christopher through the portal. And she would rather die than let the queen have that knowledge.

After discovering the truth about her motivations, Clary needed no more convincing that Christopher was in mortal danger. As long as she lived, she made him vulnerable and risked leaking his whereabouts.

So that meant there was only one solution…

The doors to the chamber swung open as the queen strode in, her gown flanking her like an army. Her expression was grim, suspicious and even a little smug.

"Did you have sufficient time to unburden your sins towards Jonathan before God?" she asked, pausing beside the marble altar, her hand reaching out to caress the corpse.

Clary had refused to be near the body. She'd already made her peace with her brother's death in the mundane graveyard. The Seelie Queen was only feeding some disturbing fantasy by keeping him here. At least finding his body acknowledged his death. She shuddered to remember her madness when she thought Clary was keeping him hidden.

"I saved my brother by killing him. My real brother would not have wanted his face to be worn and abused by a monster." Clary said steadily. The words had barely left her mouth before a crack resounded in the large chamber.

Her cheek stinging, Clary turned her gaze back to meet the queen's. In a matter of seconds, she'd crossed the room and was now almost chest to chest with Clary.

"You will not disrespect him in my court." she said viciously, her eyes flashing dangerously as her breathing became stunted. Clary frowned at the woman. Jonathan was such a touchy subject, she'd be sure to take advantage of that.

"His corpse presented like a holy object is disrespecting enough to him. He was the antonym of holy." Clary said evenly. She was enjoying this reaction in the queen.

Her jaw was clenched so tightly, Clary thought it would snap. She breathed out sharply before retreating a few steps. "I just came to inform you of something as I wanted to see your reaction."

Well if she wanted to return brutal honesty…

"Jace Herondale has requested to enter my court. He wishes to speak to me and I am about to go meet him." the Seelie Queen said, a victorious smile gracing her features.

"No." Clary breathed, staggering backward, tripping on the stairs and managing to catch herself by the elbow as her wrists were still bound. _The queen couldn't lie. _

"Yes." the queen crooned, clapping her hands together. "Goodbye now."

It took a moment for her to make sense of what she was saying before flinging herself after the Seelie Queen, but the door had already closed behind her with terrible finality that echoed in the chamber.

Clary screamed with frustration as she pounded her fists on the door, ramming her shoulder into it with all her body weight. What was Jace _doing_? How could he leave Christopher without both his parents? The only reason she hadn't gone mad with worry about her son was the comfort in knowing Jace would protect him.

And of all the reckless things he scolded her about, here he was being the most idiotic chivalrous hero. If they were both dead, she would kill him again.

Clary felt some of her fingers crack as she slammed them against the door, her shoulder becoming bruised as she repeatedly launched herself against the solid and undamaged door. Her knuckles were split, and she was just about to back up and kick the door when a pair of arms caught her around the waist.

She shrieked as she tried to jerk herself free but a familiar voice she never thought she'd be relieved to hear, sounded in her ear.  
"Will you stop screaming? Do you want to send the guards running?" Alec hissed, releasing her when she stopped thrashing.

Had she accidentally inhaled some seelie drug again? But as she turned and looked up at his towering form, she flung her arms around his neck, a strangled sob coming out. He awkwardly patted her head and disentangled her arms, cutting away at the bindings.

"But how are you here?" she stammered. "Tell me Alec, you didn't really let Jace talk to the Seelie Queen alone did you?"

He towed her away from the door and into the shadows behind a large pillar of vines. She cried out again, ignoring Alec's exasperated sigh, when she saw Isabelle and Simon waiting there. But how was this happening? Nobody entered the seelie court without permission.

"We need to start moving before she decides to come back." Simon warned, unable to wipe the goofy smile off his face. He grinned at her confused expression and pulled out two short handed axes as he used them to begin climbing up the pillar.

Clary turned to the others pleadingly. "Jace."

Isabelle smiled ruefully as she inked over Clary's iratze rune. "I really don't know what you see in him. He's such a stubborn idiot."

Clary laughed for the first time in ages, as Isabelle voiced her earlier sentiments. "Tell me where he is."

"You're not going after him." Alec said firmly. "We have a plan."

"Well tell me what that is!" Clary said, unable to keep the whine out of her voice. Isabelle's quiet laughter could be heard as she followed after Simon with her own set of short hand axes.

Alec sighed at her as he handed her two sets of axes. "Jace was determined to invade the seelie court on his own if the Clave couldn't come up with something better. Then Magnus had this theory that if Jace offered to speak to the queen and she granted him access to the court, a few of us could get in by blending in our Nephilim blood with his extra angel blood. And it worked. Now start climbing."

"Wait." Clary said, receiving an irritated eye roll from Alec. "What about Jace?"

"We have a _plan_, why doesn't anyone like my plans anymore?" he said grumpily as he pulled out his own axes. Seeing she was still unmoving he sighed again. "He's going to distract her for as long as he can so we can get out - "

"We're using him as a distraction?" Clary's screech was interrupted by Alec's rough hand over her mouth.

"Angel, will you let me finish?" he said incredulously. "The Seelie Queen won't kill him as long as she thinks he knows where Christopher is."

"But - "

"She wanted Christopher in exchange for you. She's under the impression Jace is bargaining, which by the way he refused to do. But that's what she thinks, so Jace will get out I promise." Alec said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "But trust me, he'll do something even more stupid if he thinks you didn't get out, now _move._"

She wordlessly struck the pillar with her axe and began to climb. It was a miracle they had gotten in. Now they had to get out.

When she reached the top, Simon helped pull her up onto the platform above the chamber. Hidden at the top of the pillar was a hatch that gave way to a narrow network of ducts. The average adult barely fit on their hands and knees as they shuffled down the dirt duct. It would have been claustrophobic if she hadn't been feeling so trapped in the massive chamber. It made for quite the juxtaposition.

Enclosed in dirt, everyone's breathing became heavy as the air became thicker. Simon wheezed out that this meant they were almost at the end of the tunnel. Clary wondered what would happen if they got lost in this winding dirt maze.

Over Simon's shoulder, Clary saw the faint shine of light as they emerged into the sunlight. The bones in her back creaked and screamed as she straightened them out. Fresh air and light was the second best gift she could receive right now.

She was surprised to find them in a ditch by a busy market overhead. Simon looked chipper as he led the way down the street. Vendors were lined along the sides of the road as customers bustled about, picking vegetables, meats and seafood. There was loud live music coming from somewhere in the distance and sounds of cars honking as they passed through the middle of the market.

"Where are we?" Clary asked, momentarily mesmerized by the livelihood of the market.

"Bangkok. We moved Christopher to the Bangkok Institute before coming to the court. We thought it was safest to move him around in case the queen ever guessed a location." Isabelle replied, looping arms with Clary.

"Thank you." she said earnestly, hoping they understood the extent to which she was thanking them.

"Aw shut up Fray." Simon teased, leading them down a city street before stopping in front of a large hospital. "The Bangkok Institute looks like a hospital on the outside, neat huh?"

But Clary wasn't listening to him. As they passed between the realms of mundane and Shadow world, Clary saw Jace pacing on the lawn outside, a baby nestled in his arms.

In the corny way mundane movies do it, Jace happened to turn and meet her eyes at the same time she found his.

In the less corny way, Clary nearly tripped and fell flat on her face as she stormed across the lawn and as gently as she could, crushed herself against him. Christopher let out a gurgle that unleashed a torrential downpour of tears that she welcomed with a wide smile.

Two things were clear in her mind;

First, that this was the family reunion she'd been waiting for, and the one she would spend the rest of her life defending.

And second, the Seelie Queen must die.

Author's Note

WOW two chapters left before the grand finale

Thank you, if you've stuck around this long

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I think it touches bases with a lot of deeper themes and relationships/relationship dynamics

Let me know your thoughts!


	19. Chapter Nineteen: The Queen's Reign

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_All the kids were supposed to be sleeping. When parents went to check up on them, their cots were empty and there was a message on the pillow. _

"_You can think of me what you will." the Seelie Queen continued, clearly struggling to keep her voice composed. "But I will slaughter every man, woman and child who tries to harm my child."_

_Nostrils flaring, the queen's hand caressed her stomach as her lips pulled back in a scowl. "On multiple accounts, the Nephilim have sought the destruction of my child. It seems only fair that I have the same pleasure of returning the favor. Child for child."_

"_Come." the queen breathed, her eyes wide with earnest. "Meet your nephew. Damon Jonathan Morgenstern."_

"_Do you want to know why I want to kill your son?" Amara said venomously, rising to her feet as she abandoned all attempts at pretenses. "To protect my son!"_

"_Your son is the product of two Nephilim who are both gifted with more angel blood. My son is a unique hybrid of his own. Part faerie and part Nephilim with the gift of demon blood. When Damon takes the throne, the only person who remotely stands a chance to defeat him is Christopher."_

_Alec sighed at her as he handed her two sets of axes. "Magnus had this theory that if Jace offered to speak to the queen and she granted him access to the court, a few of us could get in by blending in our Nephilim blood with his extra angel blood. And it worked. Now start climbing."_

_Two things were clear in her mind;_

_First, that this was the family reunion she'd been waiting for, and the one she would spend the rest of her life defending. _

_And second, the Seelie Queen must die._

* * *

This was the beginning of the end.

One look at Christopher's face was enough to form the immovable resolution in her mind. Victory wouldn't come find them; they would have to hunt for it themselves. The longer this miserable war dragged on, the more the queen would lust for her Christopher's death.

Clary could see it very clearly. Disturbingly and strangely clear. The ravaged and hungry look crossing the queen's face, the animalistic instinct overpowering her motherly nature as she prowled towards them…

"Clary!" Isabelle called uncertainly, waving her hand slowly in front of her face.

She jerked out of her slumped position and blinked to clear her vision as Isabelle's concerned and skeptical face swam into view.

"Sorry, it's been a long day." she murmured, forcing herself to stand up to evade the lure of sleep.

After reuniting in Bangkok, they'd switched between the Institutes they'd retaken and were now lodged in the city of Toronto. Magnus conveniently owned a very accommodating loft, in which they were all residing.

"You're the one who wanted to go over this remember?" Isabelle said cautiously, her eyes scrutinizing Clary's haggard form.

She could feel the questioning eyes of Alec, Simon and Magnus trail after her, making her even more ashamed of her seemingly uninterested attitude.

"I'm fine. Sorry. Keep going." she said apologetically, stopping behind the couch where Jace was slumped, his eyes drooping as he struggled to stay awake.

Magnus cocked his eyebrow at her in a way that made her feel like a child who was caught lying.

Isabelle seemed to sense the desperation for progress in Clary's rigid posture and continued.

"When Meliorn died to save me in Paris," she said quickly, evidently trying to rush the words before the impact of them could hit her. "I had to clean out the belongings that he had brought with him after he defected to us. And I found something he left me, well I don't know if it was meant for me to find but it's something we can use."

"Is it a sword?" Jace slurred, looking at her deliriously as he sagged against the arm of the couch.

"No it's not a sword." Isabelle replied scornfully. "On a single piece of paper, he wrote out the names of two dimensions that the Seelie Queen will use as an escape hatch if things don't go as planned."

"And you're only mentioning this now?" Alec said loudly with disbelief, shaking Jace out of his half coherent state.

His hair was mussed, dark circles underlining his eyes as he looked around the room with wild anticipation for attack. "SHH! Don't wake Christopher _please _I might have carpal tunnel from diaper changes - "

"I only found it now!" Isabelle hissed under Jace's pleading stare. "I haven't had time to examine every single piece of Meliorn's belongings - "

"Well that's what we need isn't?" Alec interrupted. "We corner her so she's forced to escape, then we have teams ready to ambush in both dimensions."

"And how are we supposed to corner her?" Simon asked, glancing fearfully down the corridor where Christopher was still sleeping. Nobody wanted to disrupt the angel boy who's other personality was the sleeping monster.

At this question, the room went silent. As clever and logical as Alec's plan was, Clary couldn't even entertain the foolish idea that they would be able to approach, let alone corner, the Seelie Queen herself.

From the unwelcome quality time they'd spent together in the Seelie Court, Clary had uncovered elements to the queen's character she hadn't known before. Damon's sharp features and innocent demeanor flickered in her mind, the green eyes boring into her with fierce intensity. The answer was so obvious, Clary felt stupid for not piecing it together earlier.

"If we can appear like a plausible threat to Damon, we stand a chance of making the queen feel cornered." Clary said aloud. Sleep seemed far away, this new clarity was jarring.

A part of her felt guilty and cruel for suggesting a tactic that would be guaranteed effective against any mother. That's how she knew it would work. She knew the feeling all too well.

"Now we just need to figure out how - " Alec's sentence was cut short by a single rap on the door.

For a split second, nobody moved. Then, Isabelle and Simon had weapons out as they braced themselves at the door. Magnus was confusedly rechecking the wards as Alec had an arrow notched in the space between Isabelle and Simon's heads. Jace and Clary had retreated midway down the corridor leading to Christopher's room where he was blessed with the luxury and blissful sanctuary of sleep.

The door opened to reveal a haggard and wild looking man with dirt and blood streaked blond hair. His eyes were dark and hollow in the dim light, his gaunt face ashen and pulled back with resignation as he held a seraph blade out in front of him in a way that was neither aggressive nor defensive.

"Who are you?" Alec asked, his arrow trained on the spot between the man's brows.

Clary braced herself, moving her hand to brush against Jace's as they waited in the shadows. Visitors in the middle of the night were not only suspicious, but signatures for danger.

When the man spoke it was like hearing asphalt grind against asphalt. "Mark Blackthorn."

The name was enough to justify a stiff silence in the room but not enough for Alec to lower his carefully positioned arrow.

Surprisingly, the man gave a wry smile. "Not exactly a popular household name as I've been told."

"Drop the blade." Isabelle said in a steely voice.

Mark shrugged and the blade clattered to the floor noisily. "I only brought it as a sign of alliance. To show I am part Nephilim."  
"Aren't you a subject of the Wild Hunt?" Isabelle asked slowly, equally as thrown off as Clary by his casual and unconcerned behavior.

A true smile spread across the man's features, sharply reminding Clary of Helen Blackthorn… the half blood Judas…

"I have overthrown the leaders of the Wild Hunt. I am the new leader and I would like to offer my allegiance in the defeat of the Seelie Queen."

As long as Clary had been a part of the Shadow world, the Wild Hunt had always seemed like a gothic myth meant to scare children. They were huntsmen who lived by no rules other than their own. Unwilling to be associated with the Seelie Courts and unwilling to limit themselves to the restraints and order of the Clave.

Riding the night in search of battles where they could snatch up dead or dying men for their service. It was hard to believe, this young and scrawny man had managed to usurp the leader.

Grudgingly, Clary knew that an allegiance with the Wild Hunt was the key to ending this war. They couldn't make it without seelie blood on their side. The pieces of the puzzle were sliding into place in her mind before she could even understand them herself. The only compromising factor would be another betrayal.

In tune with Clary's thoughts, Jace's voice cut across the room. "And how can we possibly trust in a deceivingly tempting proposition like that?"

Mark looked genuinely unsurprised and perhaps even slightly pleased as he stepped aside to reveal the trembling figures of Lilian and James Dunce.

The arrow joined the fallen seraph blade on the floor as Alec and Magnus pushed past Simon and Isabelle to reach their children. Clary began to move closer but Jace's arm shot out to block her. Clary peered up at him and his circled eyes were troubled as he watched his parabatai hoist the small girl up in his arms.

"You think it's a trick?" she whispered, narrowing her eyes at Mark who had moved aside to give Alec and Magnus space.

"I think I want to know how he managed to pull _that _off before I twine my family's lives with his." Jace said curtly, as Magnus and Alec stumbled back into the room, each cradling a child.

Isabelle and Simon beckoned for Mark to come in. He remained awkwardly by the door as Magnus and Alec disappeared down another corridor with their children.

"So how'd you do it?" Jace called nonchalantly across the room. "Breaking into the Seelie Court is quite an impressive and _unheard _of feat, unless you're in the good graces of her majesty."

Mark rubbed the back of his neck tiredly and Clary was able to see his face more clearly in the light. If Jace and Clary looked exhausted from the late nights with Christopher then Mark was verging on the line between man and zombie. Bloodshot eyes, worn clothing and an expression that resembled a man who's energy had been drained to an unhealthy point, Mark looked simply wretched.

"Seelie blood has always made me an outcast amongst the Nephilim. For the first time in my life, it's done some good by helping me rescue the kidnapped children."

"And you just wandered into the Seelie Court, undetected and unseen, then swooped back out with an army of little Shadowhunter children?" Jace asked dryly.

"Well it wasn't a picnic." Mark said indignantly. "We were meticulous and organized. That's the only way we succeeded. We'd all heard of everything going on in the Queen's War. After taking over, I knew I needed to do something to prove my trustworthiness to you all. The queen is accustomed to our infrequent passage through her courts, she didn't suspect a thing. The children were barely supervised by even the low ranking seelies, we don't think they'll connect our passage with their escape. Our seelie blood gave us access to the courts and the rest fell into place."

Jace's face was curious and dubious as he considered Mark's story.

"Do you know what your sister Helen has done?" Isabelle asked harshly, unable to filter the disgust out of her tone.

Mark visibly flinched and nodded. "I have heard the vague story. And I don't want to know anymore than that. While I'm touched by her loyalty to me, I can't ignore my loyalty to my other siblings. They're orphans in the London Institute and as long as this war goes on, they'll live in danger. I won't Helen do that to them. Even for me."

"Look," Mark said teresely, eyeing Jace's guarded stare. "If you've heard of my story, then you already know I never wanted to be part of the Wild Hunt. I was taken by them during one of Jonathan Morgenstern's institute invasions. After years of abiding by their morbid lifestyle and rules, I led a group of rebels to overthrow the leader. I was taken from my brothers and sisters, forced to live like a savage, with no means of returning home. Life with the hunt, is _life_. If I have to be in servitude to the hunt for eternity, then I'm going to use it to do something significant."

"Like taking down the Seelie Queen?" Clary finished.

While there was no way to confirm the story, there was something in his easily readable and honest face, along with his noble rescue of the kidnapped children that made Clary believe his story.  
"Precisely." Mark answered, a grin breaking through the grime and blood on his face.

Jace appeared to have reluctantly reached the same conclusion, but before he could say anything further, Christopher began to cry again.

* * *

Mark's arrival and newly pledged loyalty was the missing piece to all their problems. The plan was almost too easy and perfect. Definitely not foolproof. Jace could think of a thousand ways everything could go wrong. But bringing an end to this lengthy war seemed more urgent than ever.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jace respected Mark for his resilience and strong moral compass despite the dire circumstances with the hunt. What came as an even greater surprise, was the mutual understanding and homologous thinking they shared.

Where his sister Helen was calculated, cautious and evidently selfish with her treachery, Mark was direct, ridiculously intelligent and honorable. It was humorously ironic that Helen's misguided quest for rescuing her brother was rendered even more pathetic by Mark's own skill and leadership in saving himself. While she had resorted to partnering with the enemy, Mark had been plotting to regain independence and restore peace.

Every part of Clary, Alec and Mark's plan was smart and unpredictable. The only part Jace had adamantly refused, was being separated from Clary.

"_But Jace." Clary said reasonably, her eyes trying to hide her own frustration. "We're most qualified to lead separate teams, you have to think about what's best for everyone - "_

"_Do you like leaving me?" Jace demanded, handing Christopher the rattle he'd just hurled across the room. "Because you've made an awful habit of it."  
Clary gaped at him incredulously. "How can you even say that? You know why I had to stay behind in the tent, they would have gotten through the portal to Christopher, you know that!"  
_"_Yeah sure I do." Jace said darkly, watching as Christopher dangerously waved around the rattle in his tiny fist. "Because leaving is always the solution."  
_"_I'm not having this argument right now." Clary said furiously, shoving the clean bottles onto the drying rack. _

"_So you're just going to leave? Walk away into the other room - "  
_"_You can resent me all you'd like, but I'd bet my life that if it were you in that position, you would have done the same. And I would _not _be giving you crap for it." Clary said heatedly, trying to keep her voice from rising. _

"_Fine. But we're not being separated in the final battle. End of discussion." Jace said firmly._

Mark had been wise enough to recognize that Jace would not be persuaded otherwise, but Alec had thrown a big fuss over Jace's condition. After days of unsuccessful conversations, Alec had given up too.

"Let's review everything one more time." Mark insisted, pulling out his diagrams of the court layout.

Shadowhunters and huntsmen alike were seated in the massive amphitheater of the Mumbai Institute as they fidgeted anxiously on the dawn of the battle.

"Isabelle will be leading one team to dimension A, Alec will be leading the other team to dimension B. Presumably, the Seelie Queen and her people will flee to either of these places in the event of near defeat. The teams will be waiting there to ambush them upon arrival. Isabelle and Alec will issue conditions of surrender and take prisoners or they will lead the attack."

"The third team will be the trigger that hopefully sends them running to these dimensions for ambush. Around dusk, I will be leading the third team to the Seelie Court. My team will be composed of a few Shadowhunters masquerading as members of the Wild Hunt, along with my huntsmen. We will offer our false allegiance to the queen. If she gives us residence, we will be granted permission to enter the court."

"We will wait until midnight where Magnus and Simon will stage an attack on the entrance of the Seelie Court. This will distract the majority of seelie soldiers while my team takes them out from the inside. Once the queen realizes she's losing, they'll escape to the other dimensions where the other two teams will be waiting."

"They'll be so disconcerted by the attacks coming at them from all sides, it'll work in our favor to make them lose their edge and feel cornered in their own courts." Mark finished.

"And don't forget." Alec added. "Whoever has the opportunity to kill the queen - take it."

Without further instruction, Isabelle and Alec's teams rose from their seats and filed out of the doors where portals were waiting to whisk them off to the escape dimensions.

Jace grasped Clary's elbow and guided her out the back. Christopher was dozing peacefully in her arms as they wound their way back to the residential wing of the Institute.

"How am I going to let him go again?" Clary murmured, tracing her thumb over his plump cheek.

Jace felt his insides vehemently scream in protest at the thought of parting with his son. All his instincts were urging him to stay with his son. Nobody could protect Christopher better than he could. Nobody could defend a child as fiercely and selflessly as a father. Jace would never have peace of mind leaving Christopher in someone else's hands. But he needed to protect his son in another way. The best way he could save his son was by eliminating the root of the danger; The Seelie Queen.

"Well you could stay back and protect him." Jace said mildly, already knowing how she would respond.

"What happened to the separation anxiety between you and me?" Clary clipped as they climbed a set of iron wrought stairs.

"I wouldn't object to being parted if you were staying with Christopher." Jace said truthfully, pulling them closer to his side.

"Well I would." Clary said heavily. "We're going to end this together."

Jace couldn't disagree with that sentiment as he knocked on the door. Clary seemed to be fighting off tears as she crushed Christopher closer. If he looked down at them, Jace would lose his resolve…

The door opened and Maryse smiled at them sadly. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Mark wants to leave earlier than we planned. He thinks it's better to arrive with the expectation of unforeseen delays." Jace explained, his voice coming out oddly strained.

Maryse's eyes settled on the sleeping baby and her face fell. "Are you sure you don't want to leave him with the other children in the amphitheater? Lilian and James are there, they have soldiers stationed outside - "  
"No." Clary choked out. "We need to know he's with someone we trust. You'll protect him?"

"With my life." Maryse promised, reaching her arms out to them.

Jace couldn't bear another minute of this torment as he and Clary each gave Christopher one more kiss before his son was handed to Maryse. The door closing seemed to open the hurricane of fear inside of him.

He braced himself against the wall of the corridor, his breaths coming in constricted puffs as his vision swam with tears. Grappling for oxygen, his lungs were squeezing painfully as he pressed his forehead against the wall, his hands clenched into fists at either side of his head.

Out of all the battles and foolhardy missions he'd been on, he had never been this afraid. Terrified, rather, of the outcome if their invasion failed. It was not an _option_. Failure held a different meaning under these circumstances. Failing to kill the queen, meant failing to save Christopher and he could _not _bring himself to accept that.

Clary's arms locked around his waist, her wet cheeks pressing into his back. It was all he could do, to match his breathing to hers.

* * *

The air was brisk and cool as they pulled their hoods over their heads. The black cloaks hung from their shoulders like a snake's skin, tensed to shed at any moment and expose their true identity.

Tonight, they were members of the Wild Hunt. Bloodred masks over their eyes and ebony cloaks that flanked their every movement. Tonight, they would wear the faces of criminals and crooks. They would be thick as thieves to infiltrate the impenetrable fortress of the Seelie Courts. To wander willingly into the enemy's territory. Tonight, they would end the queen's reign.

Surrounded by members of the Wild Hunt, Clary still didn't feel comforted by her camouflage. Indirect eye contact, normal and subtle behavior was the only way they'd make it out of the fortress alive. She didn't feel invisible in the crowd. Some illogical part of her felt as if there was a spotlight trained in her direction, calling her out as an impostor.

Shaking off the ridiculous notion, Clary focused on the back of the man's cloak in front of her. Jace was stationed a few paces behind her. While Mark had conceded to keeping them in the same group, he wouldn't allow them to march beside each other. Clary had had a private conversation with him that might have influenced this idea. Knowing Jace as well as she did, he would do something seemingly inconspicuous if he felt she were in danger that would end up forfeiting the game.

No mistakes tonight. There was too much on the line.

Like a well oiled machine, they stopped in perfect synchronization. The grass cushioning her feet felt like treading on a minefield with hidden explosives poised to detonate them.

Chancing a glance in between the heads in front of her, Clary saw the Seelie Queen. Her wardrobe had become considerably darker and less frilly. Her gown was deep red at the top, leaching color till it was the faintest shade of red at the bottom. Her hair was pulled back into a tight knot, her crown set neatly on top of her head.

There was no mistaking the coldness and guarded nature in her posture. This was not the same queen she'd first encountered years ago. The double layered sentences, mischievous and playful demeanor was long gone, replaced with a hard set, fierce and unforgiving woman. There would be no mercy as long as she reigned.

"I heard there was a new leader to the Wild Hunt." the queen said mildly, her hand stroking the rose thorned spear at her side.

It was the first time Clary had seen the queen armed with a weapon. Long and agile, the spear was tipped with a deadly edged rose thorn that sang with the promise of bloodshed.

"Some people are simply not suited to be followers." Mark said with a convincingly sincere tone, that had Clary momentarily suspicious of his intentions.

The queen raised her head to observe Mark clearly, and recognition flashed in her eyes. "Mark Blackthorn. Quite an impressive feat to dethrone the leader. What is your business with my courts?"

"The Wild Hunt would like to offer an allegiance with the courts. We would like to assist in the disassembly of the Clave." Mark replied smoothly. He looked rather immature and childish beside the queen.

The queen did not speak. Her eyebrow was arched in a manner that could have been curious or apprehensive. When she did speak, her voice dripped with disinterest.

"I thought the Wild Hunt did not live in servitude with others? During my entire reign, the hunt has made it clear that they wish to be independent and distinct from my courts."

The huntsmen around Clary were still as they bated their breath, waiting for Mark to carry them over this crucial hurdle.

"An allegiance does not equate servitude. Under my predecessor's rule, we scavenged the world in search of dying men to join our ranks. I wish to rule differently. The downfall of the Clave will supply us with swelling numbers." Mark said offhandedly.

After a few minutes of unbearably tense silence, Mark seemed to have succeeded.

"An allegiance with the Wild Hunt will be sanctioned if the hunt agrees to provide soldiers to our armies." the queen finally said.

Mark smiled charmingly up at the queen who remained stony faced. "Then we are in agreement. If your majesty would be so courteous to provide us with residence for the night, we've been travelling and fighting for a while."

With a flick of her wrist, the wall of vines parted to reveal a long, winding corridor. "Rooms in this wing are for your men. You fight tomorrow."

Mark gave a half bow before leading them down the fairy lit corridor. Clary's breathing did not ease until the vined wall sealed shut behind them. Had they really blended well enough to fool the Seelie Queen? None of them were foolish enough to voice this concern aloud. Not in the queen's house.

There were two hours until midnight. Two hours until Magnus and Simon would make a noisy and noticeable attack at the entrance of the courts.

That would be their cue to begin hunting.

* * *

The plan was simple. Once Magnus and Simon started drawing attention to the entrance of the court, the team on the inside would begin silently arresting, incapacitating or if the seelies were uncooperative - killing - the members of the court. The highly trained seelies would be lured outside. Once the seelies truly began to realize what was happening, the majority of them would be captured or killed.

Taking down the queen's kingdom would require a special kind of stealth and covertness that Shadowhunters were highly skilled in. Merging with the shadows was second nature.

Jace's fingers were longing to reach for the weapons hidden under his massive cloak but the lookout hadn't given them the signal yet.

Members of the huntsmen and Shadowhunters alike were spread throughout the rooms in the corridor. Some were having quiet conversations amongst themselves while others were clocking in some sleep before the call to battle came.

He didn't need to have a conversation with Clary. They wouldn't say goodbye. Whatever happened next would happen to both of them. Any discussion beyond strategy or battle plans was teetering towards a form of farewell. He was not strong enough for that.

She was easily recognizable to him in the crowd. His muscles relaxed slightly when her small figure wove through the crowded room and perched calmly on the edge of the military style bed beside him.

She was silent and the only physical contact between them was the weight of their shoulders touching.

Jace almost scoffed out loud. A little over a year ago, they'd been separated by mundane barriers of sight and shadow. He had been a mere stranger to her. Watching from afar, too weak to approach her and face rejection, too broken to stay away. And a year later, they were husband and wife, mother and father. And about to end a war.

Filled with overwhelming emotion, Jace felt the sudden urge to spout off one last soleful speech. She was never keen on expressing her emotions in dramatic and profound ways like he did. But he'd regret it if he didn't tell her one last time -

"Let's move." Aline called out into their dormitory.

The Shadowhunters and huntsmen rose from their cots and strode towards the door. As quickly as it appeared, the opportunity was gone.

Mustering all his focus, Jace followed after Clary who was slick as she slunk down the east end of the corridor. They were following a lieutenant of the Wild Hunt who knew the layout of the courts. Their first stop would be the seelie training room.

The lieutenant was an older man with a dark haired beard speckled with gray, and a gnarly scar that extended from his temple to his chin. He led the way ahead of Clary, stopping beside a door and turned to nod at them.

It was a relief to unsheathe the weapons from inside his cloak as the lieutenant opened the vinyl door and they filed into the room.

As the door shut behind them, Jace saw Aline marking the door with a silencing rune. Her actions were shielded from sight by the other members of their group. The shadows were in their favor as the training room walls cast darkness over their entrance.

Jace did a quick scan of the training room. There were about 10 seelies training at this late hour. Most were older teenagers whose sparring masked the sound of the door closing.

It was a dome shaped room with high ceilings and rows upon rows of deadly weapons. There were patches of wilderness for seelies to groom their power over nature and a massive swimming pool. No one had seen them enter.

Like a fan, their team crept down either side of the circular room. Jace streaked after Clary and they positioned themselves a foot behind a pair of seelies cleaning their spears.

"Do you think they'll let us fight tomorrow? We've been training for months, we deserve a shot at spilling some Nephilim blood, I'm tired of picking up the scraps." the bleach blond haired seelie complained to her companion.

Her companion responded with faraway longing. "I sure hope so. We could've easily taken down those Clave monkeys in Morgenstern's graveyard."

Jace and Clary were silent and clean in their attacks, as they slapped a hand around the seelies' mouths, dragged them into the shadows and struck them sharply on the head with the hilt of their blades.

The seelie fell limp in his arms and he neatly knotted her wrists and ankles before winding a gag around her mouth.

Across the room, Jace saw Aline timing her movements so that the hilt of her sword smashed into a tall, bulky seelie at the same time an oblivious seelie's spear struck its mark on the wall. The smack of the spear on the wall had hidden her assault from detection.

The lone seelie retrieved his spear from the wall and glanced around the room for the first time. He frowned in confusion at the disappearance of his companions, his grip on the spear tightening. The others had been taken out by the other members of their team.

Wordlessly, Jace hoisted Clary up by the hips and she soared across the room, landing on top of the lone seelie. The only sound was the thump of her sword hilt against his skull.

* * *

The lieutenant marked the door with a large X and their team hurried down the corridor.

Their next stop would be challenging and they had to work quickly if they wanted to take the soldiers out before the alarms sounded.

Other teams were working through the dormitories, kitchens, dining halls and infirmary. As many seelies as they could capture could mean one less dead soldier.

The court's ops center was bustling with seelies who were rotating on patrol, plotting strategy and revising battle plans. The lieutenant's hand came up with two fingers motioning them forwards as he disappeared down a side corridor with a few others.

Clary pressed herself against the wall beside the door as Jace did the same on the other side. It took only seconds before they could hear the lieutenant's voice from inside.

"Sorry to disturb you gents, but the leader of the Wild Hunt has ordered for the huntsmen to use the ops center for the next hour." the lieutenant said loudly.

"You think because her majesty has made an alliance with you, that you can infest our home and our work? Try again." a seelie said snidely.

"Well if you'd like me to wake the leader at this hour to bring in the queen and explain the situation to you then - "

"Fine you bloody horseman'." the seelie sneered.

Clary braced herself as the first seelie wandered out of the ops center. She yanked him into the shadows and rammed her elbow into the side of his head. He crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll but she was already onto the next one.

The woman's squeal was cut off as Clary drove the hilt of her blade into the back of her head. The third seelie was more alert than his fellow soldiers. When she gripped the back of his neck, he dug his elbow painfully into her side.

Breathlessly, Clary had no choice but to slit the man's throat. Noise meant attention. As he flopped onto the floor, Clary saw that Jace had fared much better than her. 6 unconscious seelies lay at his feet.

Jace wiped some blood off his face and ducked his head into the ops center.

"The head of the elite guard's office is down the hall!" the lieutenant barked, pulling his sword from a seelie's chest. "Take him out while we find the seelies on patrol."

Clary darted after Jace as they ran along the earthy floor. Being the taller of the two, Jace peered into the small window above the office door.

"There's 5 of them in there. I don't think we can take them out without causing a ruckus." he whispered, his golden hair gleaming against the ebony cloak in the dim lighting.

Clary frantically glanced at the office door, searching for an entry that would maintain their charade. Her eyes trailed up the door to the high walls and settled on the patchwork of vines.

"Do you think the ceilings are the same height in the office?" Clary asked quickly, feeling her insides squirm with discomfort. They'd been too lucky to remain undetected in the hall.

Jace's brows crinkled as he nodded, peeking back into the window to confirm.

Breathing in deeply, Clary pulled him back. "This is going to sound insane, but I think if I can scale up this wall and cut out a wedge of the vines, we can slip in."

"What happens when we slip in?" Jace said in hushed tones, his eyes flickering around them with a hard glint.

"The vine on the wall and ceiling look as sturdy as the vines that have overtaken New York. I think it'll support our weight if we use it to climb across the room - "

"Like monkey bars?" Jace gaped, turning to gauge the height of the wall. He glanced back at her with a mixture of admiration and daring. "Sounds brilliant."

Clary shook her head at him before grabbing a handful of the vinyl wall and began climbing up. There was a faint murmur audible from inside the office. If anyone looked up at the window above the door, they'd see a dark cloaked figure, sneaking up the wall.

When she nearly reached the top, she used her dagger to slice away at the wall.

The vines gave way under her blade and within minutes of crooked cutting, a decent sized hole was at the top of the wall. Her left arm was burning from supporting her weight as she dropped the vine remnants onto the ground below.

Grinning down at Jace, she slid into the hole. It was frightening to look down. The 5 soldiers in the elite guard were arguing, their weapons propped against chairs as they huddled around a large map.

She imagined this was how tightrope walkers felt when there was a tank of sharks beneath them. Gritting her teeth, Clary fastened her hold on the vines above head and propelled herself off the hole in the wall.

If she fell, she would meet a fate worse than a tank of sharks.

Without checking if Jace was following, she continued gripping the vines in front of her as she slowly inched across the room. Like the idiot she was, she glanced down at the seelies below her and her sweaty hold on the vines nearly slipped.

Cussing internally, she stopped in the middle of the room directly above the seelies and swung her right arm to the other side to switch direction so that she was facing Jace.

His face was flushed as he closed the distance between them. They were chest to chest, breathing heavily as his eyes burned into hers. He craned his neck towards her so that his lips caressed her ear when he spoke.

"How many seelies can you take out with a dagger from here?" he breathed.

His close proximity was _not_ helping with her sweat slick palms or uneven heart beat.

"Probably only one. And then they'd look up and catch us." she replied, so softly, she didn't think he would hear.

He nodded at her, as if he expected this answer. Jace looked down quickly before meeting her gaze again. "Do you trust me?"

"Always." she gasped, readjusting her slippery hold on the vines. _Please don't fall._

A reckless smile flitted across his features. His lips were warm against her ear. Was he trying to make her fall?

"Wrap your legs around my torso and inch down so that you have better range of motion. Take out at least 2 seelies, then we'll drop down onto the other two and take the third out." he instructed.

She leaned back to stare at him incredulously. "You can't support both of us - "

"I'm insulted." he murmured. "Come on, it's the most efficient way. Trust me."

Against her better judgement, she secured her legs around his waist. Her heart was racing, as her shoulders cried from the strain of climbing. She ducked her lips beside his ear.

"If you fall, I'll never forgive you." she warned.

Ignoring her better judgement for the second time in mere seconds, she crushed her lips against his quickly before releasing her hold of the vines and sliding down his hard body.

As she passed over his chest, Clary could hear the hammering of Jace's heart through the thick material of the cloak. That sound _must _go on.

When her legs were hugging his hips, she used her right arm to withdraw a dagger. Hanging from the ceiling, with nothing but Jace's arms to keep her steady, Clary felt a strange wave of calm.

Pulling her arm back, Clary threw the dagger down. Before it hit its mark squarely in the chest, she let another dagger fly, it whistled through the air before striking a second seelie in the back of the head.

Shouts of surprise came from below as she made a snap decision to let a final dagger cut across the room. It pierced into the throat of the head of the elite guard.

Like a projectile, she dropped down from Jace and landed on top of the fourth seelie. Her knife had slit the man's throat before he could reach for his spear. Landing beside her as silently as a cat, Jace plunged his blade into the fifth seelie.

Suddenly, a hand seized the back of her hood and pulled it down. Her red hair cascaded down onto her shoulders as she spun around.

Helen's fathomless eyes were staring back at her as the alarm bells sounded.

Author's Note

Thank you for tuning in, I hope everyone is staying safe :)

Check back next week for the final chapter…

Oh I love cliffhangers … Let me know your thoughts!


	20. Chapter Twenty: Our Last Act

Author's Note - Please Read

If you've been with this story from the very start, thank you for your patience, support and investment. This chapter is dedicated to the ones who stayed.

As for a sequel...possibly...maybe...one day in the future… who knows?

This story was meant to be a continuation of the prematurely cancelled show Shadowhunters, always and forever; #SaveShadowhunters

And onwards…

_Previously on Long Live the Hunt_

"_Come." the queen breathed, her eyes wide with earnest. "Meet your nephew. Damon Jonathan Morgenstern."_

"_Your son is the product of two Nephilim who are both gifted with more angel blood. My son is a unique hybrid of his own. Part faerie and part Nephilim with the gift of demon blood. When Damon takes the throne, the only person who remotely stands a chance to defeat him is Christopher."_

"_On a single piece of paper, he wrote out the names of two dimensions that the Seelie Queen will use as an escape hatch if things don't go as planned."_

"_I have overthrown the leaders of the Wild Hunt. I am the new leader and I would like to offer my allegiance in the defeat of the Seelie Queen." said Mark Blackthorn._

"_Isabelle will be leading one team to dimension A, Alec will be leading the other team to dimension B. Presumably, the Seelie Queen and her people will flee to either of these places in the event of near defeat. The teams will be waiting there to ambush them upon arrival. We will offer our false allegiance to the queen. If she gives us residence, we will be granted permission to enter the court. We will wait until midnight where Magnus and Simon will stage an attack on the entrance of the Seelie Court. This will distract the majority of seelie soldiers while my team takes them out from the inside."_

_Suddenly, a hand seized the back of her hood and pulled it down. Her red hair cascaded down onto her shoulders as she spun around._

_Helen's fathomless eyes were staring back at her as the alarm bells sounded._

* * *

The shrill ring of the alarms pierced through the tense air and echoed noisily in Jace's ears. All their attempts at subterfuge were rendered pointless. Completely futile and pathetic in the face of the half blood Judas.

"Helen." Clary breathed, her muscles coiled to spring.

Jace wished she wouldn't be so sympathetic towards the wicked.

"Don't do this." she continued, her voice pleading as the words bounced off Helen's stony expression.

"It's already done." Helen said evenly, her jaw locking in defiance.

Jace couldn't bear her deluded sense of superior morality any longer.

"Little did you know, that while you damned us to an endless and bloody war, the very brother you betrayed us to save, became the key to saving us." he said coldly, watching the revelation shatter her composed features.

A flash of emotions flickered across her face. "You're lying." she finally hissed.

"Maybe I am." Jace shrugged, tightening his hold on the seraph blade. "But you know I'm not."

The next part surprised him. Helen tore from the room without a single glance backwards.

Clary's arm shot out to stop Jace's pursuit. "Let her go."

Jace was tempted to hunt down the blond haired woman but Clary's warning touch and the rage of the battle beyond the office doors, was enough to hold him in place. A battle that would have resulted in much less death and gore, if the half blood Judas hadn't foiled their stealthy plan and set off a tirade of retaliating seelies.

Like the soldiers who hunted before them in the uprising and the heroes of the Dark War, Jace and Clary stepped through the office doors and into the sea of battle.

The alarms had summoned every uncaptured seelie who resided in the courts. The halls were teeming with members of the Elite guard, wielding weapons of death on their territory. If they hadn't snuck in earlier and reduced their army size, the Shadowhunters would have been out numbered to the verge of defeat.

Jace's blood was thrumming with the rush and high of the fight. His sword came down in a graceful arc and cut neatly through the chest of a squat little seelie.

There seemed to be a never ending supply of food for his blade, as he kicked a long haired seelie squarely in the chest before plunging the sword into his heart.

Shaking off the excess splatter, he shoved several seelies aside in his haste to reach a pair of fighters at the far end of the room. His heart was hammering against his chest as he watched the bulky seelie knock the nephilim soldier onto the ground.

The soldier on the ground wore the youthful and blood streaked face of the boy whom Jace had taken an interest in during his lecture at the Shadowhunter Academy. _Too young_, Jace's insides screamed as he elbowed a short woman out of his way.

The bulky seelie was hovering over the boy, a triumphant look on his face as he raised his spear. Jace barrelled into the man and they crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs and weapons.

He felt something sharp strike his jaw and lithely rolled away as the spear came down. The bulky seelie had turned back to finish off the young boy when Jace yanked him back by the collar and brought his blade up to his neck.

This seelie was not inexperienced. He wrenched Jace's wrist back so that the sword clattered to the floor, and punched him hard in the abdomen. A string of colorful words escaped Jace's lips as he rammed his elbow into the seelie's nose and slithered out of his grasp.

Blood spurted from his nose as a savage roar rumbled from the bulky seelie's chest. Jace swiped the blade back up and blocked the spear aimed for his jugular.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy stirring from his fetal position and Jace prayed he had the good sense to play dead.

Jace swung his knee into the man's ribs, a loud crack resounding in the air. In the second the seelie staggered back for breath, Jace brought the sword to kiss his neck.

The battle was only growing more violent and heated, as soldiers trampled over dead bodies and thundered over furniture. Jace was cursing the boy for being so brazen and reckless. Who let him join the battle, anyways? He was just a kid.

But Jace knew the answer. He must have been of age and the Clave wasn't particularly picky with their selection of soldiers at this point in time.

Ducking under a pair of avid fighters, Jace hauled the boy to a half standing position, slinging his arm around his shoulders. He dragged the naive child out of the thick of the battle and searched his pockets for a stele.

A tawny eyed seelie rounded the corner, his eyes blazing with ferocity as he launched his spear at the slumped boy. Jace's blade blocked the spear from making impact as he positioned himself in front of the semi conscious boy.

The tawny eyed seelie was nonplussed by his lack of weapon. He locked his arms around Jace's waist and flung him into the wall. Jace managed to hold onto the seelie so that they both crashed into the hard wall.

Gritting his teeth, Jace grabbed the man's shoulders and held him at arm's length before kicking him sharply in the groin.

Jace slid to the floor, blood trickling from his mouth as he advanced on the slouched seelie. Before he could reach the tawny eyed man, the young boy lurched forwards and drove a dagger into the man's shoulder.

Rearing back like a wounded animal, the seelie hoisted the boy into the air and snapped his neck. Jace cried out as the boy flopped lifelessly to the floor, his limbs thumping against the grass uselessly. The eagerness, excitement and liveliness of the ambitious soldier disappeared from his deadened eyes. No - not disappeared - stolen. Stolen from his eyes.

Anger pulsating in his veins, Jace's sword found its home inside the tawny man's body.

"You moron!" Jace groaned, crouching next to the dead boy and sliding his eyes shut. "Ave atque vale, hail and farewell."

He was overcome with a strange sensation of grief and sadness for the boy he did not know, as he turned back to face the storm.

* * *

Clary had somehow managed to wind up in the same cavernous chamber where she'd been held captive by the Seelie Queen.

Jonathan's dead corpse had been rushed out of the room like some precious and worshiped object that was of higher value. It was completely absurd. The living were fighting to save the dead.

As the short seelie bared his teeth at her, struggling to right himself from the injuries she'd inflicted, Clary's seraph blade silenced his feeble cries.

She felt slightly sick as she pulled the blade out, the edges slick with blood and tissue.

Around the room, several pillars had toppled over from the sheer intensity and force of the battle. The ceiling was quaking with the weight of a hundred soldiers and the steps to Jonathan's altar were smashed to smithereens.

She turned in response to the crunch of footsteps and was greeted by Gorman's hungry grin.

Gorman. The same seelie who had assaulted her in the alleyway, so many lifetimes ago. The same seelie who had danced with her at the masquerade ball in the other dimension. The same seelie responsible for the kidnapping, torture and death of her people.

"It's always a pleasure to see you." he said in a clipped voice. "Although, there was no need to break into my home, a bathroom stall in the Hunter's Moon would have sufficed."

Clary's jaw clenched, her sword salivating to hack the seductive look off his face. But she would not waste her time with such trivial forms of torture. She would settle for his payment in blood.

He was quick to measure her movements as his spear blocked her sword. His crooked grin was aggravating as his hand stroked the front of her chest tauntingly.

She swung her leg out behind his ankle, hoping to trip him but he was smart enough to spin and brace himself against the wall. He was deft in his maneuvers, trapping her in between his body and the vined wall.

Gorman's eyes raked down her body callously. "Your head would make for a lovely mount on my bedroom wall."

His breath was hot and uncomfortably sticky against her face as she grabbed a fistful of hair on the back of his head and twisted him away from her. Gripping his head by the roots of his hair, she slammed him face first into the wall.

He screamed in pain, his hand still clamped tightly on her forearm. Without a trace of remorse, Clary's sword separated his hand from his arm.

He fell sideways onto the floor, cradling his stumped arm against his chest. Just as she was about to deliver the death blow, he shouldered into her ankles and knocked her back onto the ground.

The wind rushed out of her lungs as her head cracked painfully against the floor. His hands were crushing her windpipe now as his knees forced her against the ground.

Her vision blinking, Clary managed to land a well aimed blow to his jaw. But it was enough to loosen his hold on her neck. Clary swung the sword tip into his back, and he collapsed against her in a heavy mass of blood and missing limbs.

She shoved his weight off her and kicked him to the ground. As blood pooled around his body, Clary dismembered his other hand, his screams becoming lost in the clash of the battle.

Hands that had inflicted so much pain. So much loss. Hands that could no longer cause any harm.

With a final look at his beady eyes, Clary pierced his heart.

The ceiling overhead was groaning as Clary raised her head to scan the chamber. Most of the outskirts of the room was littered with corpses, a few side battles ongoing, but the golden flash in the center drew her attention.

Jace was a deadly tempest, swarmed by about four seelies who thirsted for his death.

He was not unnerved by their upper hand, or even remotely concerned by their large offensive. His sword was unforgiving and his strikes were merciless. In the haze of the terrible battle, Clary saw beauty.

Breaking out of her admiration, she broke out into a run and her heart seemed to match her feet in an anxious sprint. She clambered up the back of the tallest seelie and snapped his neck in one fluid motion.

A second seelie turned to face her as she landed on her feet beside the crumpled soldier. The other two seelies were engaged in a deadly dance with Jace.

Clary welcomed his approach with newfound rage and adrenaline as she easily side stepped his heavy blow, seizing his neck and ramming her knee against his face.

Stumbling back with a shout of surprise, Clary kicked the spear out of his hand and drove the sword into his chest.

She wheeled around to see that Jace had successfully killed one of his opponents and was in the midst of dodging the last seelie's wildy wielded spear.

It was almost too natural. Clary's sword cut through the sinews of the seelie's shoulder, sending him off balance and dazed with agony. Jace knocked the spear out of his hand and jumped into the air, falling like an angel of war, his booted feet ramming into the man's chest. As the seelie fell, Clary's blade cut through his neck.

She met Jace's blazing eyes, alight with fire and fervor that could not be tempered. Her heart was soaring in time with his as the ascending rush of the hunt crashed in tidal waves around them.

The spellbinding moment was shattered by the audible _snap _of the ceiling above. Chunks of moss covered blocks rained down around them, landing on top of corpses and holding them hostage to the ground.

Jace grappled for Clary's hand as they darted around the shower of moss boulders and leaped over the corpses of friend and foe alike. The room was caving in, making its downfall clear to the occupants of the chamber with deafening smashes.

The ground beneath them trembled with fright as Jace half lifted her over a large slab of marble pillar. Clary blinked against the splinters of dust, ash and earth that clouded her vision, gripping Jace's hand like a vise.

They were nearly at the door when an imminently clear crack echoed in the space above them. A massive heap of jagged boulder and moss was torpedoing towards them. Clary wrapped her body around Jace and threw her weight against him, sending them spiraling to the floor just outside the chamber. She clutched him to her, trying to shield his towering frame with her body.

Pellets of rock and dirt cut into her skin, leaving angry red marks in their wake. The impact of her body against Jace, against the floor was enough to leave her winded.

Jace appeared to be struggling beneath her, contorting his body awkwardly to push her under his arms, when the pillar at the far end of the hall capsized. Like dominos, the pillars lining the hall fell one after the other.

Jace scrambled for purchase, tugging them out of the way, as the final pillar thudded to the floor.

* * *

For the first time in hours, there was silence. The contrast was soothing in comparison to the ferocious roar of swords clashing. It was oddly peaceful and Jace longed to close his eyes…

The last thing he remembered was the surrender of the ceiling to the force of their battle and tiny, foolish Clary trying to shield _him _from the onslaught.

The lull of the silence was coaxing him to close his eyes and never wake up. Such a tempting offer, he very much wanted to accept but there was this faint background noise that was holding him back.

"Jace! Oh my God! Jace!"

Yes, that was his name - Jace. And Jace wanted to sleep so _badly, _it was like a heavy cover over his lids dragging his consciousness down under to a pitless, inescapable depth. What he would give for just a moment of escape -

"Jace!"

And then, very abruptly, he was yanked back into reality. His eyes flickered sluggishly against his lids and Clary was there, teary eyed and achingly beautiful.

"Oh my God, where the hell did everyone go?" she screamed in frustration, her brows furrowing endearingly, the way they did when she was stressed. But why was his Clary stressed?

He tried to move his parched lips but they scratched together dryly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the smoke filled air from the grinding of the pillar against the ground. Not a living soul was in sight, the hall was devoid of its prior lustrous green and replaced with a weathered coat of blood, ash and dust.

He refocused his droopy gaze on Clary, watching her eyes widen when they met his. Such a pretty green color, had he ever told her that before?

"Jace? Can you feel anything? I've given you an iratze but I just - I'm not strong enough - I _can't _\- " she sobbed, her words coming out jumbled.

And that's when he saw it. The last pillar was draped across his lower abdomen, hips and legs, holding him prisoner to the ground. There was no pain. Either he was paralyzed or the pain had reached the gray area where it no longer felt like pain. The temporary interphase between life and death. Exhaustion was the only reminder that anything had happened at all.

A thousand iratzes couldn't revive him. The rune couldn't beat the weight of the pillar.

"It's okay." he managed to whisper, his voice sounding hoarse and lifeless. She only seemed to cry harder at his words.

It was strange to raise his arm, it felt like he hadn't used it before. He fumbled around the ground before grasping her small hand in his and pressed the back of her hand to his lips.

"I don't feel any pain." he assured her, finding comfort in speaking the truth.

She shook her head miserably and struggled to hold his gaze for long. But he wanted to keep looking at her lovely green eyes…

"Someone please! Is anyone there?" she yelled again, her voice raw with emotion and the strain of her screams.

Jace knew her attempts were in vain. There was nothing but silence to answer their pleas. And even if someone was there, even if ten someones was there, there was not enough herculean strength to save him.

"Can you look at me, please?" he asked faintly, his breathing becoming ragged. Clary unwillingly brought her eyes to meet his and he was peaceful again. Not even her tears could completely blur out the beauty in her eyes.

"Clary? Jace?" Aline shouted, clambering in between broken chairs and fallen pillars to reach them. "Is that you?"

No go away, Jace thought vehemently. He didn't want an audience for this, not even Clary. He wasn't selfish enough for that.

Her eyes widened with horror when she drank in the sight of them. Jace tore his eyes reluctantly from Clary to give Aline a meaningful look. He silently begged her to take Clary. What if there were lingering seelies waiting to attack? Jace couldn't protect her now. But most of all, she shouldn't have to see this, she shouldn't have to _live _with this dreadful memory.

Aline's eyes also filled with tears as she crouched beside Clary, grasping her forearms gently.

"Clary…" Aline said softly, her voice breaking as she averted looking at Jace's mangled body.

He wasn't offended. He only wanted to see Clary a little longer.

"No." Clary said. Her voice was steel as she tightened her hold on his hand.

"Clary." Aline said again, more firmly. She had sad, kind eyes as she tried to comfort Clary. "We have to go - "

"_No_." Clary said forcefully, shaking off Aline's hold. "Go away."

Aline looked disgusted with herself as she rested a hand on Clary's shoulder.

"Don't." Clary snapped, her eyes boring into Jace, holding him in the present with her. _I want to stay with you too, _he thought numbly.

"I know this is hard Clary, but we have to go - " Aline said weakly, tugging lightly on Clary's arm.

Her temper seemed to have exceeded her patience. Clary wrenched her arm from Aline's grasp and turned to give her a dangerous look. "Touch me again and I'll cut your throat."

He'd always loved her feisty little temper. Hell, he'd been on the receiving end of it and the cause of it on many occasions.

Another figure, staggered towards them, glasses askew on his face.

"Simon! Thank the angel!" Aline said, waving him over.

Perfect. Another member of the audience. Aline was whispering quickly and hurriedly in Simon's ear. Jace had an inkling that she was convincing him to help move Clary, but Jace couldn't be bothered to look. Clary's eyes were entrancing.

Simon's face was unreadable, although there was a faint trace of sorrow in his eyes. He kneeled beside Jace, his voice coming out rough.

"I'm sorry. If I was still a vampire, I could have saved you."

Jace's lips twitched into a smile. "Save _her_."

Simon nodded wordlessly. His arms surrounded Clary in an iron grip, pulling her off the ground, her hand slipping out of Jace's grasp.

Jace's eyes followed after her, watching her curse and struggle in Simon's arms.

But he was stronger. And Jace was thankful for him - his brother.

Clary was inconsolable and could not be reasoned with as she elbowed Simon in the nose and shook his arms off.

Ragged and raw sobs were coming out of her tiny frame, her body shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself. Like she was trying to hold the pieces of herself together, an act of self preservation. She fell to her knees, hunching over in pain as her face contorted with grief and adamant disbelief.

Simon's arms locked around her again, pulling gently, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to drag her away. Not when she was so _defeated_, this way.

"No _no _NO!" she screamed, gripping the sides of her head, like she couldn't comprehend what was happening. Her face was reddened with anger and distress, Jace longed to comfort her in his arms. But he was trapped here, beneath these marble chains that would become his grave.

She was rocking back and forth, shaking her head with a frenzied look in her eyes. Simon might as well have been coercing a brick wall for all the good he was doing.

Jace could feel his breaths come in short bursts now, his eyes growing heavier with the pull of sleep.

Clary seemed to see this too. She shouldered Simon out of the way and pulled herself to a half standing position, shaking her head at him, the tears flowing faster. Her hand was in a tight fist that dug into the junction between her neck and chest. Her shoulders caved inwards, like she was bracing herself for impact. It was a tragic sight to see.

"Clary, we have to go." Aline cried, tears trickling down her bruised cheeks. There was no conviction in her voice.

Clary was shaking her head again. "Make it stop." she begged, fists clenching tightly. He could see the veins on her neck bulging with the strain of her desperation. Her body seemed to be wholly and thoroughly rejecting this moment.

"There's nothing we can do." Simon whispered gently.

"Stop saying that!" Clary screeched, arms locking around herself even tighter. Strangled groans and sobs were escaping her chafed lips as her shoulders shook and body trembled.

She suddenly collapsed against the pillar, throwing her body repeatedly against the pillar. Her furious fists punched the marble and Jace could see the blood trickling down from her knuckles. Simon and Aline tried to pull her away but Clary was unstoppable. He was sure he heard the crack of bone as she continued to launch herself against the pillar, unparalleled anger and despair apparent on her tear stained face.

If determination alone were enough, she would have saved him.

"Clary," Jace breathed. "Stop."

His voice seemed to penetrate through her walls of defense and she stared blankly at the pillar. A new wave of tears cascaded down her cheeks as she flung herself on top of him. Her hair brushed against his face and he could feel the race of her heart against his chest.

This must be as good as dying gets.

Simon and Aline appeared to have given up, both silent mourners at his funeral. Jace appreciated the moment with Clary, holding her close.

It was Aline that broke the quiet.

"What are you doing here?" she stammered, falling back behind Simon, like she was afraid but relieved.

Through the tresses of Clary's hair, Jace saw the face of the half blood Judas.

* * *

Clary couldn't remember deciding to move. But somewhere in between her excruciatingly painful attempts to grapple with the concept that Jace was truly _dying_, and seeing Helen's face, her muscles had moved of their own volition.

Her knuckles were already bleeding, so she felt little regret in ripping the skin further apart as she punched Helen sharply in the jaw. She forgot entirely about her sword, or her daggers or her seraph blades and found extreme satisfaction in battering up her face as she slammed the girl to the ground.

Simon's arms were once again dragging her away from a body, as Clary thrashed violently.

"Fight back you coward! How dare you show your face here!" Clary shrieked, grappling for a dagger to strike the girl with. Simon's hand clamped tightly over her own, halting her search.

With a final loathing look, she wrenched out of Simon's grip, and fell back into Jace's arms. How _dare _she intrude on this moment. The audacity was astounding, and Clary could not allow herself be ruled by her fury, or she'd lose what little time she had left with Jace. How could this be happening? Her body was protesting, _refusing _to accept this.

Aline's expression was guarded. She seemed to be holding back a floodgate of emotions. Like she had too much to say but didn't know how to say it.

Helen was on her feet, wiping the blood from her mouth. Simon moved to block her sightline to Clary and Jace.

"Stay back." he warned.

Helen's face was solemn and hard. "I can save him."

Clary pressed her forehead harder against Jace's, trying to drown out the lies spouting out of the blond haired girl.

"You killed him." Simon spat, true anger seeping through his even voice.

Helen took a deep breath, as if willing herself to continue. "I can - "

"What, are you strong enough to lift this pillar?" Simon asked harshly, his sword trained in front of him.

"No." Helen said, her voice rising a pitch. "But _I _can save him, by taking his place."

Once again, silence permeated the air as the words registered in Clary's mind. In her melt down, she hadn't noticed the slit of space on either side of Jace's body beneath the pillar. Small enough for another body to slip in.

"I won't ask you to do that." Jace breathed raggedly, squeezing Clary's hand lightly.

"I'm insisting." Helen replied. She seemed to be locked in a tense eye conversation with Aline. Neither of them moving, neither of them speaking.

"No." Jace whispered more firmly.

"It would work." Helen said with a deadpan expression. "I'm small enough to wedge in the space beside you, it should alleviate enough pressure for the others to pull you out. Like a lever."

Clary heard what they were saying, but her mind couldn't link the meaning together. It was too dangerous to hope.

"I won't ask you to do that." Jace repeated, his words coming out strangled and breathless from the exertion.

And then, Helen's offer triggered a rush of understanding and self despise. It was too good an offer to be true, yet it was too tempting an offer for Clary to refuse. Was she a terrible person for this? Probably. Was she unbelievably selfish? Definitely. As much as she wished for Helen to pay for her betrayal, was her life wager enough? For Jace's life, it was.

"But I will." Clary said cutting across Helen's retort. She looked desperately into Jace's eyes, willing for him to understand her selfishness. To forgive her unspeakable actions. Then she turned to look at Helen.

And she no longer saw a traitor, but a broken and naive girl who had been blinded by her love for her brother to the extent of destructiveness. And Clary felt even more terrible.

Helen nodded once and moved forwards, when Aline closed the distance and seized her arms tightly.

"Wait." she said with panic, her eyes flashing with fear as she looked at Helen with alarm.

"No." Clary said, pulling out of Jace's grasp. "Don't bother. I'm just as small as Helen, I can fit - "

"No." Jace said sharply. Even in his condition, he managed to say the word with forceful finality.

"No." Helen said, tears leaking out now. "I made this mess, I'm the one who should clean it up. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you, all of you." she said crying now, and looking most determinedly at Aline.

"Wait, Helen no - " Aline said, distraught with the confusion of her own feelings and the undeniable love for Helen that was evident in her eyes.

"It's okay. Somebody has to die under that pillar and it shouldn't be Jace." Helen half laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind Aline's ear. "Nobody needs me. Jace," she said, turning to address him. "You have a son. A wife. A family, who needs you. My siblings have each other and they have Mark now. I found him after I talked to the two of you in the office. Seeing him, seeing his true honorability and goodness, I realized what I had done. And I know what I have to do now."

Aline was shaking her head slowly, like a confused and torn person.

Helen kissed her cheek softly. "Please let me do this. I have to. For my soul."

She pulled out of Aline's grasp and moved past Simon, who stood rigid with shock. Clary grasped Helen's hands in her own and looked at her sincerely.

"Thank you." Clary murmured, feeling an even deeper shame as the girl smiled weakly and slipped underneath the pillar.

"This never would have happened if I hadn't done what I did." she said sadly. "I hope you can forgive me."

She turned back once more. "Damon and Jonathan's body are with the queen, wherever she is."

And then she too, was beneath the crushing weight of the pillar. Simon was beside Clary then, and they grabbed Jace beneath the arms and pulled him out.

Clary had no right to cry, but she did. Uncontrollably and haggardly, as she traced over his iratze, cradling his head in her lap.

It's effects were instantaneous. She could see the steadiness to his breaths, his foot twitching in response to the mending of bone.

Aline seemed to register what had happened and turned around with anguish, rushing to the pillar where Helen was pinned. In a cruel and parallel way, Aline and Helen were now in the place Jace and Clary had been, only moments ago.

The sound of Aline's cries were even more terrible than Clary could have imagined. Another wave of shame and self disgust washed over her as Jace propped himself to a sitting position. His eyes seared into hers and she nodded once as he moved towards the crying couple.

"Thank you, is not sufficient enough for this." Jace said quietly, as he crouched beside Helen.

Helen cracked a wry smile. "Forgiveness is the best gift you could give me. The guilt would have killed me anyways if you hadn't let me do this." she laughed humorlessly. "This is actually a much kinder death than I deserve. Not many traitors and murderers get to right some of their wrongs before they go."

Clary rested her hand on Jace's shoulder and nodded at the fair haired girl.

"We forgive you." Jace murmured.

A peaceful smile graced Helen's features as Jace pulled Clary away.

"We can't leave her." Clary whispered, clinging to Jace. She supposed she'd never let go. Not after this.

"I'll stay." Simon said, rubbing his face with a hard look in his eyes. Jace nodded and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

Then he took her hand and they walked away from the wreckage. Away from the loss.

* * *

Nothing he'd ever done in his life, could possibly have made him worthy of that. In a world that was governed by injustice and broken faith, he should have _died_. That's what should have happened.

Yet, he had managed to evade death once more. And he did not deserve it.

Jace held Clary close to him, pulling them to a stop once they neared the ravaged front entrance of the courts. He cradled her face in his hands, tracing his nose along hers, down her cheekbones, to her jaw.

He did not deserve any of this. Surely, they'd thrown the balance in the world completely off kilter. Was his number up the day he died on Lake Lynn, and they would continue to find themselves in this position, until one day death finally got its way?

Overcome with relief, and overwhelming sadness for the girl who'd sacrificed his life for him, Jace crashed his lips against Clary's. He would never take this for granted.

When they broke apart, Jace caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun around, his seraph blade raised and came face to face with Raj.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, lowering his blade with a growing sense of deja vu.

Raj eyed the blade with irritation and looked back at Jace with equal annoyance. "Once the seelies realized they were way out numbered, they fled like we predicted, to the other dimensions. Isabelle's team already captured or killed all of the seelies in their dimension. Alec's team is nearly finished."

"Where's the Seelie Queen?" Clary asked briskly.

"She ran off into the seelie woods with the baby. Some of us are out hunting for her. There's no escape now, the only exit and entrance is right here." Raj shrugged nonchalantly. "Have you guys seen my kindjal - "

Jace and Clary weren't listening. They had already turned in the direction of the woods, hands locked and faces set.

"Promise me something?" Clary asked, as they ran through the trees and ducked under low hanging branches.

"Anything." he agreed, his legs surging forward with certainty and strength. Legs that should have been permanently paralyzed.

"Neither of us leaves these woods, until the Seelie Queen is dead." Clary said, her voice like ice as she cut a branch out of her way.

"I can live with that." Jace said airily, scanning the dark forest for signs of movement.

"We have to." Clary said more to herself. "For Helen."

In truth, Helen was wrong. No one should have died under that pillar. Except for perhaps, the Seelie Queen herself.

They didn't speak until they reached the center of the woods, and Jace saw a flicker of movement ahead. They slowed to a walk, their tread masked by the whipping of the wind as they inched closer.

There, beside a flowing stream, the Seelie Queen stood with one arm holding a bundle. Her other hand was poised in front of her, ready to fend off an attack. Her back was facing them.

Jace watched as Clary pulled out a dagger, bringing her arm back and then swinging it forward neatly and powerfully. Instead of aiming for her head, Clary sent the dagger for the queen's outstretched hand.

In a swift motion, the hand was 5 feet away from the body. 5 feet away, where it could no longer abuse nature and serve as a weapon. If the dagger had missed her head, the queen would still have 2 offensive weapons.

The queen screeched with rage, turning around with disbelief. She looked like a cornered animal as she switched the baby to her stump arm and flung her other hand out.

Thorns jutted out from the earth, upheaving the roots as they formed a line of protection between them.

Jace kneeled so that Clary could spring off his knee and she landed gracefully on her feet on the other side. All the years, Alec had scoffed at Jace's arrogant flipping skills would serve him well today. He took a few strides back before sprinting forward and launching himself over the thorn wall.

A dagger was protruding from the queen's shoulder and Clary was wrestling for the baby. The queen's hand shot out and the branches of the nearest tree tore Clary away and she slammed against the bark.

Jace had his sword balanced carefully in his hand, close enough to strike, but he couldn't risk harming the baby.

A callous and cold laugh fell from the queen's lips. "I'm impressed. I thought you were bluffing about wanting to save my child. Too bad I wasn't."

And then he saw it. And his blood ran cold. Nestled in the queen's arms, was _Christopher_.

"No." Jace said furiously, flickering between the child and the queen's victorious face.

"Yes." she smiled serenely. "I had Helen sneak him out from under Maryse's nose. Her Nephilim blood is invaluable. The Shadowhunters all assumed he was mine. If they wanted to kill my child, they would be shockingly mistaken when it turned out to be _your _son that they murdered."

Clary flew past Jace and lunged for the queen's throat. He made the snap decision to seize her around the waist and hold her back. He was right to do so. The queen had a blade up to Christopher's neck.

His blood boiled with anger at the thought of the queen using his son as a shield. As a decoy. But he shouldn't have been so shocked at her ruthlessness. Hadn't he learned about her games by now?

"Feels wretched doesn't it?" the queen sneered, tracing the knife point lightly across the swaddle of blankets. "Having your son hunted?"

"Hand him over." Jace said loudly, trying to keep his voice calm and his grip on Clary firm. He couldn't lose his composure now.

Then he recalled a fragment of Helen's last few words, when life had been slipping away from him. _Damon and Jonathan's body are with the queen, wherever she is._

His eyes quickly flitted around the woods, his heart racing for leverage, racing to save his son, when he settled on the stream behind the queen. Beneath the ebb and flow of the water, Jonathan's pale face was gleaming below the surface. There seemed to be a protective net of reeds around him, preventing the water from degenerating his corpse. And beside him was a swathed child.

He released Clary and dove into the stream. He heard shouts of surprise and despair behind him, but he already had the child grasped in his arms.

He surfaced from the water and the child began to wail in his arms. The Seelie Queen's face became pale as she ground her teeth together with hatred.

"You wouldn't. You're too _noble_." she said finally, her expression becoming smooth.

Jace was bluffing but he prayed she wouldn't see through it. Not with her son on the line. "Are you willing to test that?" He raised his own dagger to the child's neck.

The queen's fear was clear on her face. Jace locked eyes with Clary and nodded infinitesimally.

In the brief second the queen's eyes were scrutinizing his bluff, Clary barreled into her, knocking the dagger from her hand. They tumbled onto the grass, Clary not even daring to use her blades so close to Christopher.

Jace climbed out of the stream, holding the child carefully in his arms and ran over to the women clawing each other on the floor. It was mother against mother.

He managed to tear Christopher from the queen's grasp and bolted away from the scene, both babies crying in his arms.

"Run!" Clary screamed, unsheathing her blade and slashing at the queen's throat. It nicked the flesh as she just managed to avoid a more detrimental wound.

The queen's shrill cries trailed after him as he ran. He slowed to a walk once they were hidden from view and calmed the children down. He found a thick oak, to hide the babies behind and draped some fern leaves over them.

It would be just their luck for a wild bear to come in search of a snack.

One last look at Christopher was all he afforded himself, before he tore back towards Clary.

Both parties were heavily bleeding as they came into view. Neither were armed, the queen wasn't even bothering with magic. It was more _feral_ and animalistic. Something rooted deeper than the trivial weapon.

Clary dodged a blow to the chest, and leaped forwards, grabbing the queen by the neck. They fell to the ground, Clary's hair falling in a wild frame around her shoulders as she pressed the queen harder into the earth.

As Jace was close enough to hear their conversation, the queen jerked her knee into Clary's chin and their positions became reversed. The Seelie Queen's face was murderous as she clenched Clary's neck in between her hand and stump, raising her off the ground and slamming her into the earth repeatedly.

Too terrified for Clary's life to merely run, Jace bounded off a large rock and flew across the short distance, landing on the queen's back. Her crown slipped from her head and sunk to the bottom of the stream.

Jace braced his foot against her back, pulling her arms backwards so that her chest and neck were forced upwards.

Clary was deliberate and careful as she retrieved her fallen seraph blade, before turning to face the queen. Jace's eyes burned into Clary's and he nodded.

"Checkmate." she whispered, before thrusting the sword into the queen's chest.

* * *

_6 months later._

* * *

"Who knew I'd enjoy managing a construction site _so much _more than hunting?" Isabelle said mildly, as she flipped through sheafs of paper attached to her clipboard.

Clary laughed as she lounged on the picnic blanket beside Jace and Christopher. He was shoveling fistfuls of mashed strawberries into his tiny mouth, looking simply delighted with his day.

"When can we move in? My back isn't as young as it used to be." Jace said seriously, propping himself up on one elbow.

Isabelle gave him a cold look as she turned to look up at the framework of the Institute.

"It could still be a few weeks. I was rather occupied with funerals, injuries and other work, you know." she said in a clipped voice.

Clary looked up too. The burned Institute had been completely demolished and torn down before they had set to work to rebuild it. The grass outside the Institute had grown back to its healthy green color and texture. The only scar left on the building was in their memories.

Jace tilted his head up to drink in the sun rays, and they reflected off of his golden hair and face magnificently. She was momentarily distracted by this when Christopher gave a loud gurgle. He was straining to reach for some of the mashed blueberries that sat in a bowl on top of Jace's flat chest.

She turned to smile down at her baby boy, swiping the bowl from his chest. "You're a hungry little man aren't you?"

"That's my boy!" Jace crowed proudly, ruffling the strawberry blond locks on Christopher's head.

Isabelle crouched down beside the baby, her face illuminated with adoration. "You'll thank me in a few years when the Institute has larger rooms, training centers and a pool - "

"Did you order the list of weapons I gave you?" Jace asked abruptly.

Without turning from her crooning and cooing at Christopher, she slapped the clipboard down on Jace's chest.

"First checkmark on the list."

He cussed loudly, earning a pointed look from Clary before her phone sounded with an alert for the time. She tried to mask her nerves as she stood up from the blanket.

"I'll be back in an hour."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Jace asked, a worried look overtaking his breathtaking features.

She tried to smile. "I'm sure."

Clary pecked Jace and Christopher each once on the forehead before crossing the grass lawn and into the mundane world.

The past few months had been a pleasant retreat from the chaos and heat of the war. With the death of the Seelie Queen, new order had to be reinstated over the fair folk.

War criminals were brought to justice under the Clave's law and Mark Blackthorn was universally nominated to be the new Seelie King. The Wild Hunt was passed down to Mark's trusted companion.

The New York Institute was not the only one that needed rebuilding. The city of Iris and most of the other institutes were subjected to months of renovations and ward applications.

Then there was, of course, the matter of the dead. With so many bodies, the Silent Brothers had been performing funerals and cremations consistently for the past few months.

Clary had had a private cremation for Jonathan, scattering his ashes in the mundane graveyard with all his original belongings. She, Jace, Aline and Simon had pushed for Helen to be buried in the Silent City. In the end, she had proved worthy.

Clary had also been given responsibility for Damon. She and Jace had fought for his survival, pushing back against the Clave for mercy. Ultimately, they agreed to let the child live.

It had been a tough and morally gruelling decision, and she had deliberated for weeks, growing more closely attached to her nephew.

In the end, she decided to leave him outside a mundane fire station.

Though, it may have seemed uncaring and unkind, Clary did not want Damon to grow up with the same temptations as his parents. Being raised in the Shadow world would make him an outcast amongst his peers and scorned by those who held grudges.

At the same time, Clary knew what it was like to grow up and feel like there was constantly a piece missing from her life. To have her sight stripped away, each time it returned.

It was not her place to make that decision for Damon.

She and Jace decided that when Damon turned 18, the legal adult age for mundanes, they would introduce him to the Shadow world. If he wanted to join, they would teach him. If he decided he wanted to remain oblivious, Magnus would help them with that.

Now, she was strolling down a residential street, anxious and hopeful to see Damon with his new family. A mundane couple who owned a sushi restaurant, had finalized their adoption last week. Clary had personally revised their history and credibility and deemed them fit parents.

She would do right by Amara and Jonathan. She would not abandon their son. Clary would be the aunt that visited frequently, until she could open his eyes to the real world.

Inhaling sharply, Clary was glamoured as she peeped into the window of a grand townhouse. There, in the living room were three people. The father was making funny faces as the mother laughed and held Damon in her lap.

Damon squealed with joy as he clapped his pudgy hands together. He suddenly turned and looked out the window, his green eyes reflecting back in hers.

She stilled, as Damon blinked and smiled up at her. He seemed to already have some semblance of the sight. She smiled back.

Maybe, there was hope.

Exactly an hour later, she flopped back down on the picnic blanket and nuzzled her nose into Christopher's cheek.

Jace wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Everything okay?"

She turned and smiled at him, laughing as she craned her neck around so she could lick a smudge of mashed blueberry from his cheek.

"Everything's perfect."

And it was. One day they would meet Damon again, and they would have to tell him the truth about his family and his identity. One day they would have to face Christopher, and tell him their long and complicated story, teaching him to be better. Stronger.

One day, inevitably, another monster would lurk in the shadows, threatening to snatch their happiness away. The only thing for certain, was that the hunt would live on. The hunt was immortal.

But today, Clary was satisfied in leaning back against Jace as they watched the sun set behind the towering frame of the Institute.

There was only the soft peals of Christopher's laughter and the rhythmic thudding of their hearts, as the rest faded into the distance.

_The End._


End file.
